The purpose of this study was to describe any patterns of distinctive sociocultural adaptation in the form of exchanges of time and money between American households, and to determine whether any observed racial or ethnic differences remain after controlling for social background characteristics. Through processes of distinctive sociocultural adaptation, minority group members learn to survive by adjusting behaviors, values, and informal organization in response to demands and stressors in their social environment. The focal adaptation in the study involved instrumental and expressive exchanges between households. Minority groups on average were less likely to participate in instrumental and expressive exchanges between households as compared to the majority group. Logistic regression was used to test for racial and ethnic variations in a multivariate context.