Deck 9: Unmarried Lives: Singlehood and Cohabitation

Question 1

In general, cohabiting gay and lesbian couples differ from heterosexual cohabiting couples in which way?

A) They are older than heterosexual couples.
B) They are less racially diverse than heterosexual couples.
C) They are less likely to have earned college degrees.
D) They are less likely than heterosexual couples to be in a cohabiting relationship.

Answer 1

D

Question 2

Families of choice are

A) recognized by law.
B) more stable than families by marriage.
C) not officially recognized in family policy in the United States.
D) unlikely to include more than one caretaker for children.

Answer 2

C

Question 3

Domestic partnerships are

A) recognized by most Fortune 500 companies.
B) the same as common-law marriages.
C) only allowed for heterosexual couples.
D) not offered by state or government agencies.

Answer 3

A

Question 4

Which statement is false regarding gay and lesbian cohabitation?

A) About 75% of same-sex couples are raising children.
B) Same-sex married couples have a median income higher than unmarried same-sex couples.
C) Same-sex couples can marry in all 50states.
D) Lesbian couples make up slightly more than half of all same-sex households.

Question 5

The largest group of singles in the United States is those who are

A) divorced.
B) widowed.
C) never married.
D) separated.

Question 6

Linda and Bill are very committed to one another and live together, but have no intention of marrying. They like their relationship the way it is. This illustrates which type of cohabitation?

A) Coresidential dating
B) Substitute for marriage
C) Precursor to marriage
D) Trial marriage

Question 7

Couples who cohabit before remarrying tend to

A) be happier than those who do not cohabit before remarriage.
B) be less happy than those who do not cohabit before remarriage.
C) be no different with respect to happiness from those who do not cohabit before remarriage.
D) have a lower divorce rate than those who do not cohabit before remarriage.

Question 8

Singlism refers to the

A) inability of some people to find a mate.
B) negative effects on children of being in a single-parent household.
C) prejudice and discrimination experienced by singles.
D) tendency of singles to be self-focused and individualistic.

Question 9

Rates of cohabitation have increased for which reason?

A) Women are more economically dependent on marriage.
B) Most people consider marriage obsolete.
C) Views of sexuality have liberalized.
D) The meaning of divorce has remained consistent over time.

Question 10

Compared to cohabiting couples, married couples tend to

A) have higher personal earnings than cohabiting couples.
B) become less stable with the arrival of children.
C) be less sexually monogamous.
D) suffer less economically when breaking up.

Question 11

Regarding finances, cohabiting women generally have

A) a more precarious economic situation than men.
B) more economic opportunities and success than men.
C) about the same economic situation as men.
D) have a dramatic rise in their economic status after dissolving cohabitation relationships.

Question 12

Rates of singlehood declined in the 1950s.

Question 13

) Between 1960 and 2015, rates of cohabitation in the United States

A) rose steadily.
B) declined steadily.
C) increased until the 1990s, then began to decline.
D) remained the same.

Question 14

Those who engage in serial cohabitation

A) are less likely to divorce after marrying.
B) more than double their risk of divorcing after marriage.
C) typically learn from previous mistakes and have more rewarding relationships.
D) rarely marry.

Question 15

Based on 2015 Census data, there are about _____ gay and lesbian couple households in the United States.

A) 150,000
B) 370,000
C) 600,000
D) 1,000,000

Question 16

The cohabitation effect is

A) smaller among whites than among African Americans.
B) smaller among whites than among Hispanics.
C) smaller among African Americans and Hispanics than among whites.
D) similar regardless of race or ethnicity.

Question 17

Liz is wondering if she is suitable for marriage, and so she moves in with Andrew. This illustrates which type of cohabitation?

A) Coresidential dating
B) Substitute for marriage
C) Precursor to marriage
D) Trial marriage

Question 18

Common-law marriage

A) is recognized in all states.
B) is not recognized by most states.
C) began in the 1970s.
D) allows couples to break up without divorcing.

Question 19

Relationships among the unmarried are more egalitarian than among marrieds.

Question 20

The percentage of the population that is unmarried has ____ in the last four decades.

A) been increasing
B) been decreasing
C) remained consistent
D) quadrupled

Question 21

Discuss singlism and matrimania, giving examples of each.

Question 22

Gay men and lesbians commonly construct families of choice with more fluid boundaries than heterosexual couples.

Question 23

Identify and describe the types of cohabitation identified by Heuveline and Timberlake.

Question 24

Cohabitation reduces the risk of divorce in later marriage.

Question 25

The racial/ethnic group with the largest percentage of unmarried individuals is

A) non-Hispanic white.
B) Asian.
C) African American.
D) Hispanic.

Question 26

How do researchers tend to account for the increase in cohabitation?

Question 27

All states recognize common-law marriages.

Question 28

Compare and contrast common-law marriage and domestic partnership.

Question 29

Among the unmarried population aged 18 or older, there is a ratio of ___ men to every 100 women.

A) 50
B) 63
C) 87
D) 97

Question 30

Describe the major characteristics of gay and lesbian cohabitation.

Question 31

When comparing past and present attitudes toward singles, we find that

A) singlehood is less stigmatized today.
B) pressure to marry is greater today than in the past.
C) people feel more guilt today than in the past if they are unmarried.
D) media casts marriage in a more favorable light than in the past.

Question 32

The presence of children has about the same effect on married and cohabiting couples.

Question 33

"Gray divorce" refers to the phenomenon of

A) divorce among those over 50 years old.
B) a divorce in which partners continue to have active roles in each other's lives.
C) an informal separation of a marriage.
D) a high number of men and women whose marriages have ended in divorce.

Question 34

The unmarried population in the United States

A) increased from 1890 to 1960.
B) decreased from 1890 to 1960.
C) decreased from 1960 to 2010.
D) has remained the same since 1960.

Question 35

Accelerated cohabitants find that moving in together felt like "a natural process."

Question 36

What percentage of adults have never married, according to 2014 data?

A) 43.8%
B) 28.1%
C) 35.3%
D) 49.7%

Question 37

In the United States, cohabiting couples lack most of the rights that married couples enjoy.

Question 38

The increase in the number of single adults in the United States is due to all except which of the following?

A) Delayed marriage
B) Increasing educational options
C) More conservative sexual and social standards
D) An imbalance in the sex ratio

Question 39

Rates of cohabitation have increased tenfold since the 1960s.

Question 40

Expanded educational and employment opportunities for women have had a limited impact on the rise in singlehood.

Question 41

Contemporary relationships among the unmarried are characterized by which of the following?

A) Partners tend to be economically dependent on one another.
B) Partners tend to be emotionally dependent on one another.
C) Partners tend to emphasize egalitarian roles.
D) Partners tend to be more dependent in their roles.