This paper presents the results of an ecological analysis of the relationship between infant mortality and economic status in a metropolitan aggregate comprised of seven of the larger cities in Ohio during the three years centering on the 1990 census. Using a summary income score derived for the census tract of mother's usual residence, the census tracts in the seven metropolitan centers were divided into broad income groupings and three-year average infant mortality rates were computed for each area, by age, sex, race, and selected causes of death. The most important conclusion to be drawn from the data is that in spite of some remarkable declines in overall levels of infant mortality during the past few decades, there continues to be a very clear and pronounced inverse association between income status and infant mortality. The general inverse association is observed for both sexes, for whites and nonwhites, and for all major causes of infant death. At the same time, the data reveal notable differences in the magnitude of the relationship by sex, and especially by age at death, race, and cause of death. Explanations of these differences are suggested, and a conclusion notes some of the difficulties encountered in developing programs aimed at closing the infant mortality gap between the richest and poorest segments of the society.

Two features of Piven and Cloward's scatter-gun reply to our paper, Turmoil in Command of Politics, stand out: their failure to respond adequately to our major conclusion and their heavy use of virulent red-baiting and ad hominem arguments which obscures that failure. We concluded on the basis of an examination of several of their works (not just Poor People's Movements, as their reply suggests) that, There is such a bad fit among the four movements with respect to composition, strategy, and targets that any lesson [for future activism] based upon their presumed similarities is, at best, questionable. Their response is that searching for similarities in different historical periods is a time-honored method and that they do pay attention to differences among the movements. (Indeed they accuse us of borrowing from them when we point out the contrast between the disruptive power of industrial workers and welfare mothers and the importance of socialists and communists in the movements of the 1930s.) Their first point is self-evident and requires no comment; the second does. We do not deny now, or in our paper, that Piven and Cloward describe differences among the movements. Our contention is, as the reader will have noticed, that they fail to give the differences sufficient weight. Piven and Cloward's own description of their analysis in their reply illustrates their assessment of the significance of differences among the movements. Nothing is done with the description. They turn directly to a discussion of organizational form as the major variable in determining the effectiveness of social movements. Obviously, they do not believe the differences are as important as we do, but they do not explain why. We think such an explanation would have been a useful contribution to the serious debate about the potential for mass movements in the United States .. .

Families of the Slums: An Exploration of Their Structure and Treatment. By Salvador Minuchin, Braulio Montalvo, Bernard G. Guerney, Jr., Bernice L. Rosman, and Florence Schumer. New York: Basic Books, 1967. 460 pp. $10.00 Families of the Slums: An Exploration of Their Structure and Treatment. Minuchin Salvador, Montalvo Braulio, Guerney Bernard G.Jr., Rosman Bernice L., and Schumer Florence. New York: Basic Books, 1967. 460 pp. $10.00. Jack L. Roach Jack L. Roach Department of Sociology, University of Connecticut, Storrs, Connecticut Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic PubMed Google Scholar Social Work, Volume 14, Issue 1, January 1969, Pages 138–139, https://doi.org/10.1093/sw/14.1.138 Published: 01 January 1969

Journal Article Better than the First Draft Get access Jack L. Roach Jack L. Roach Department of Sociology, University of Connecticut, Storrs, Connecticut Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic PubMed Google Scholar Social Work, Volume 14, Issue 3, July 1969, Page 128, https://doi.org/10.1093/sw/14.3.128 Published: 01 July 1969

Journal Article La Vida: A Chronicle of Misery Get access Jack L. Roach Jack L. Roach Department of Sociology and Anthropology University of Connecticut Storrs, Connecticut Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic PubMed Google Scholar Social Work, Volume 12, Issue 4, October 1967, Pages 108–111, https://doi.org/10.1093/sw/12.4.108 Published: 01 October 1967

The concept of a “culture of poverty” figures prominently in analyses of contemporary poverty and in explanations of the behavior of the poor. An examination of this concept indicates logical and empirical deficiencies in its use. Many of these deficiencies stem from basic problems in the use of the subculture framework, of which the concept of a culture of poverty is an instance. Some suggestions for a more appropriate use of the concept are offered. An alternative approach for understanding the behavior of the poor is proposed in which the material conditions of economic deprivation are given greater emphasis.

Previous articleNext article No AccessCommentary and DebatesSociological Analysis and PovertyJack L. RoachJack L. Roach Search for more articles by this author PDFPDF PLUS Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail SectionsMoreDetailsFiguresReferencesCited by American Journal of Sociology Volume 71, Number 1Jul., 1965 Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1086/223994 Views: 27Total views on this site Citations: 2Citations are reported from Crossref Copyright 1965 University of ChicagoPDF download Crossref reports the following articles citing this article:Alan Listiak “Legitimate Deviance” and Social Class: Bar Behavior during Grey Cup Week, Sociological Focus 7, no.33 (Aug 1974): 13–44.https://doi.org/10.1080/00380237.1974.10570891Harry C. Triandis, Roy S. Malpass Studies of Black and White Interaction in Job Settings1, Journal of Applied Social Psychology 1, no.22 (Jun 1971): 101–117.https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1559-1816.1971.tb00356.x