The study revolves round El Bajo, the main settlement of a poor barrio, part of an economically depressed region, extending along the southeast section of the coast of Puerto Rico, where half the male household heads and 21 of 27 female-headed households are dependent on aid. Comparisons within El Bajo show that that there is an increase in unstable marriages associated with the introduction of assistance to single mothers, and decreased household instability with regular employment for men. This difference between ‘good’ and ‘bad’ marriages is polarized by the expansion of ‘middle class’ occupations, and the consequent emphasis on social mobility. A review of matrifocality in women-headed households indicates a variety of households masked by the term, now mostly associated with class and low status.