Table 1.

Personal Characteristics of Mothers by Racial/Ethnic Group (Averages and Percentages)

	African American (n=890)	Hispanic (n=1365)	White (n=1468)	p- value	Asian (n=268)	Native American (n=177)
Average age	30.5 ± 6.0	30.7 ± 6.0	31.1 ± 6.3	.08	32.9 ± 6.4	31.1 ± 6.0
Children in Household
Number pre-school children	0.8 ± 0.7	1.0 ± 0.9	0.8 ± 0.8	<.001	0.8 ± 0.7	0.9 ± 0.9
Number school-aged or older children	1.7 ± 1.4	1.7 ± 1.4	1.6 ± 1.3	.10	1.4 ± 1.5	1.9 ± 1.4
Living Status
Living alone	68	29	38	<.001	27	44
Not living alone	32	76	62		73	56
Immigration Status
Percent immigrants	9	73	6	<.001	83	1
Average years in U. S. for immigrants	17.7 ± 7.1	12.1 ± 5.8	11.3 ± 9.1	.16	14.4 ± 7.6	6.5 ± 2.1
Length of Residence
Years lived in county
<1 year	3	3	4	.006	5	3
Between 1–2 years	9	9	10		8	11
Between 3–5 years	13	19	5		16	13
>5 years	75	69	71		71	73
Years lived at current address
<1 year	26	19	23	<.001	19	24
Between 1–2 years	39	32	33		29	29
Between 3–5 years	23	28	24		27	21
>5 years	12	22	21		25	26
Education
Did not finish high school	12	47	11	<.001	13	16
High school diploma or GED	34	34	32		31	37
Some college or 2-year associate degree	49	16	48		37	39
4-year college degree or higher	5	3	9		19	5
Employment Status
Employment full-time	37	31	32	<.001	41	79
Employed part-time or in school	26	24	26		26	24
Homemaker	12	28	29		22	17
Disabled	6	2	4		3	5
Unemployed	19	15	9		9	25
Dental Insurance
None	23	69	46	<.001	47	40
Medicaid	55	15	32		20	45
Private	22	16	22		32	15
Annual Household Income
<$10,000	57	45	39	<.001	39	52
$10,000–$20,000	25	31	27		27	24
>$20,000	18	24	34		34	24
Cigarette Smoking
Not at all	66	91	63	<.001	85	66
Some days or everyday	34	9	37		15	34
Mental health score
1 (Best)	16	18	9	<.001	13	10
2	38	41	44		37	47
3	28	28	30		36	23
4	13	9	13		12	11
5–6 (Worst)	5	3	4		2	9
Survey Mode
Web	5	3	10	<.001	5	4
Mail	74	64	72		84	73
Telephone	21	33	18		11	23
Percent completing Spanish survey	0	54	0	<.001	0	0