Using the National Longitudinal Survey of young women aged 14 to 24 in 1968 who were interviewed annually over a five-year period, a study was conducted to examine the relative importance of economic and noneconomic factors in determining the likelihood of marital disruption for young black and white women. A literature review showed that previous research lacked an interdisciplinary approach. The major economic factors examined consisted of the husband's earnings, improvements in financial position, debt accumulation, welfare accessibility, the woman's income, and number of hours worked per week. The demographic and social variables considered were the woman's education, age, duration of marriage, childbearing, growing up in a broken home, and urban/rural residence. Also the ease with which one can obtain a divorce in the state of residence was analyzed. It was found that (1) direct economic factors are less important as determinants of marital breakdown than socioeconomic background and demographic factors; (2) educational attainment, coming from a broken home, age, and duration of marriage are the most influential determinants; (3) racial differences are not significant. Topics for future research on this subject are suggested. (ELG)