Deck 12: Family Life

Question 1

In 2012, the average number of children born to the typical U.S. woman over her lifetime was about

A)2.75.
B)1.9.
C)0.75.
D)3.12.

Answer 1

B

Question 2

Sandra lives with her two children. These three people represent

A)a nuclear family.
B)an extended family.
C)a cohabiting couple.
D)a nonfamily group.

Answer 2

A

Question 3

Because of

A)delinquency, gangs, and crime, especially in rural areas.
B)the lack of support from government.
C)a growing number of absent fathers who leave single mothers to raise children on their own.
D)racial discrimination.

Answer 3

C

Question 4

In 2013, about what share of families with children under 18 had just one parent in the household?

A)one-sixth
B)one-fourth
C)one-third
D)one-half

Question 5

Samuel, Jake, and Jake's two children share an apartment. They consider themselves a family. Their relationship is referred to as

A)a nuclear family.
B)an extended family.
C)a family of affinity.
D)lineage. (

Question 6

In 2013, what percentage of the U.S. adult population have remained single?

A)2 percent
B)7 percent
C)17 percent
D)27 percent

Question 7

What percentage of African American children are born to a single mother?

A)10 percent
B)38 percent
C)55 percent
D)72 percent

Question 8

About what percentage of young children of mothers in the labor force receive care during the working day from a parent, grandparent, or other relative?

A)9 percent
B)19 percent
C)29 percent
D)49 percent

Question 9

In the United States, about what share of people between twenty-five and forty-four years of age cohabit at some point?

A)one-eighth
B)one-fourth
C)one-third
D)half

Question 10

One documented trend that is a sign of family change is that

A)the number of people living together without being married is declining.
B)more gay and lesbian couples are joined by marriage.
C)the divorce rate is now lower than it was a century ago.
D)people are marrying at a younger age.

Question 11

The sharing of a household by an unmarried couple is referred to as

A)cohabitation.
B)a consensual union.
C)a single-parent family.
D)an extended family.

Question 12

Families are built around a lawful relationship, usually involving economic cooperation, sexual activity, and childbearing. What is this relationship called?

A)kinship
B)marriage
C)affinity
D)cohabitation

Question 13

In the United States, most people who receive public assistance are

A)African Americans.
B)Hispanic Americans.
C)grandparents.
D)white.

Question 14

Which term refers to a social bond based on common ancestry, marriage, or adoption, which joins individuals into families?

A)kinship
B)affinity
C)lineage
D)marriage

Question 15

Which of the following terms refers to parents and children, plus grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins, who often live close to one another and operate as a family unit?

A)family of affinity
B)extended family
C)nuclear family
D)marriage

Question 16

In 2013, the typical age at first marriage for a woman was

A)16.6 years old.
B)20.6 years old.
C)26.6 years old.
D)30.6 years old.

Question 17

The biggest problem facing one-parent families, especially when that parent is a woman, is

A)obesity.
B)poverty.
C)housework.
D)drug use.

Question 18

A majority of U.S. families, including those with young children,

A)care for aging people in the home.
B)have a non-working mother.
C)experience unemployment for some time during the year.
D)have both parents working for income.

Question 19

William Julius Wilson claims that the major cause of poverty among African American families is

A)alcohol and drug abuse.
B)family violence.
C)a lack of available jobs.
D)the breakdown of two-parent families.

Question 20

Which term refers to one or two parents and their children?

A)extended family
B)family of affinity
C)nuclear family
D)family of production

Question 21

Which theoretical analysis views families in terms of patterns of gender inequality?

A)social-conflict analysis
B)symbolic-interaction analysis
C)structural-functional analysis
D)feminist analysis

Question 22

Which term refers to an arrangement in which one woman carries and bears a child for another, usually in exchange for money?

A)surrogate motherhood
B)artificial insemination
C)in vitro fertilization
D)sperm donation

Question 23

In the case of John and Luanne Buzzanca, who engaged a woman to serve as a surrogate mother using donated eggs and sperm, and who then divorced before the child was born, the court ruled that

A)both parental parties who engage a surrogate mother are responsible for the child.
B)in surrogate mother situations, only the donor of the ovum is responsible for the child.
C)in surrogate mother situations, only the donor of the sperm is responsible for the child.
D)surrogate mothers are partially responsible for the care and support of the child.

Question 24

Prenuptial agreements may be a good idea because

A)the couple may not really want to get married.
B)the couple may not have enough money to live on.
C)there is a significant chance that the marriage will eventually end in divorce.
D)the couple has older children.

Question 25

The structural-functional approach and the social-conflict approach both represent which type of analysis of the family?

A)micro-level
B)macro-level
C)liberal
D)conservative

Question 26

Most blended families manage to cope with the challenges, but research shows that blended families carry an increased risk of

A)physical and sexual abuse of children
B)teen pregnancy
C)poverty
D)incarceration of the first husband

Question 27

Compared to a century ago, the divorce rate today is

A)half as high.
B)about the same.
C)almost four times higher.
D)more than ten times higher.

Question 28

Under "no-fault" divorce laws,

A)one partner must prove the other ruined the marriage, for example by abandonment or adultery.
B)the courts consider who is the "bad" person when dividing property and assigning child custody.
C)alimony is typically paid by the higher-earning spouse to the other spouse.
D)couples declare that their marriage is over due to irreconcilable differences.

Question 29

As of 2014, how many countries (excluding the United States) have enacted lawful same-sex marriage in name, as well as in practice?

A)none
B)ten
C)sixteen
D)one hundred

Question 30

New reproductive technology, including in vitro fertilization

A)is very expensive, and thus out of reach for many people.
B)is now responsible for half of all births in the United States.
C)has been legally banned in all fifty states in this country.
D)is permitted by law, but only for same-sex couples.

Question 31

Sociologists use what term to refer to cases of scientific discoveries that occur faster than our ideas develop about the acceptable ways to use them?

A)innovation
B)cultural lag
C)technological backlash
D)non-normative advancement

Question 32

According to the structural-functional approach, which of the following social institutions is considered to be the most important?

A)the economy
B)politics
C)education
D)the family

Question 33

Of the children who are awarded court-ordered child support, about what percentage receive partial payments or no payments at all?

A)3 percent
B)17 percent
C)37 percent
D)57 percent

Question 34

James and Marjorie have a marriage in which each partner finds comfort and support. This kind of intimate relationship is considered ideal according to

A)social-conflict analysis
B)symbolic-interaction analysis
C)structural-functional analysis
D)feminist analysis

Question 35

In 2004, which state became the first to recognize lawful, same-sex marriage?

A)Vermont
B)California
C)Massachusetts
D)Connecticut

Question 36

Scott and Connie are married and have a six-month-old son. Also in the home is Scott's son from a previous marriage and Connie's daughter from a previous marriage. This household can be correctly described as

A)a reconstituted family.
B)a non-family.
C)a blended family.
D)cohabitation.

Question 37

About what share of today's marriages will end in divorce, separation, or dissolution within twenty years?

A)one in ten
B)three in ten
C)half
D)seven in ten

Question 38

Research shows that children raised by same-sex parents

A)outperform other children in school.
B)are at high risk of sexual abuse.
C)are more likely to become gay themselves.
D)receive the same supportive and effective parenting as those raised in other families.

Question 39

In the United States, about how many gay and lesbian couples have formed committed partnerships?

A)4,000
B)90,000
C)160,000
D)640,000

Question 40

Which nation has the highest divorce rate in the world?

A)Italy
B)France
C)the United States
D)Canada

Question 41

According to which political point of view should society develop collective arrangements for performing housework and child care?

A)conservative
B)liberal
C)radical right
D)radical left

Question 42

What "family problems" do people see from the conservative point of view? What about the liberal point of view? What about the radical-left point of view? How would each political position define solutions to family problems?

Question 43

Which political point of view claims that, in order to increase social equality, we need to replace the family as we know it?

A)conservative
B)liberal
C)radical right
D)radical left

Question 44

Do you think that conflict between family life and work is more common today than it was a century ago? Why or why not? What factors are involved in this change? On balance, do you see these changes as good or not? Why?

Question 45

Discuss the controversy surrounding divorce. What arguments do people make in support of more easily accessible divorce? What criticisms do people make? What do liberal and conservative political points of view each have to say about divorce?

Question 46

What do we learn about family life from sociology's major theoretical approaches, including structural-functional analysis, symbolic-interaction analysis, social-conflict analysis, and feminist analysis? What can you draw from these various types of analyses that might help you make family life better in some ways?

Question 47

Friedrich Engels developed an early theory of family life making the claim that men gained control of women's sexuality as a means to protect their own wealth. This claim is the foundation for which type of theoretical analysis?

A)social-exchange analysis
B)symbolic-interaction analysis
C)structural-functional analysis
D)social-conflict analysis

Question 48

Which theoretical analysis views the family less as an institution and more in terms of ongoing relationships among individuals?

A)social-conflict analysis
B)symbolic-interaction analysis
C)structural-functional analysis
D)feminist analysis

Question 49

From which point of view would someone see the rise in cohabitation as spelling trouble for U.S. society?

A)liberal
B)conservative
C)radical left
D)radical right

Question 50

Which theoretical analysis explains how the family perpetuates inequality by continuing the class system?

A)social-conflict analysis
B)symbolic-interaction analysis
C)structural-functional analysis
D)feminist analysis

Question 51

Which of the following is a "micro-level" analysis of the family?

A)social-conflict analysis
B)symbolic-interaction analysis
C)structural-functional analysis
D)feminist analysis

Question 52

Which political point of view considers "family values" to mean getting-and staying-married with parents displaying strong commitment to children?

A)conservative
B)liberal
C)radical left
D)radical right

Question 53

Which political point of view places the greatest emphasis on support for diverse family forms, including cohabitation, single-parent families, blended families, same-sex marriages, and singlehood?

A)conservative
B)liberal
C)radical right
D)radical left

Question 54

Discuss how and why the traditional definition of a family as a married couple with children has broadened in recent decades. What major family forms are common today?

Question 55

Which political point of view claims that conventional families are breaking down: divorce, single-parenting, and living together without marriage are symptoms of a "me first" culture that weakens society and places children at risk?

A)conservative
B)liberal
C)radical right
D)radical left