Deck 3: Contemporary Issues in Family Life

Question 1

Single parent families have always existed because of historical low life expectancy rates.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

The family as an agent of social control has expanded beyond what it was in the past.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

Technology, consumerism, and urbanization are new functions now affecting families.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

Immigrant families who send remittances to their relatives contribute to the economic survival of entire societies.

Question 5

Compared to today, families in the past were more unstable structurally, were more isolated socially, and were less well supported by other institutions.

Question 6

Family functions are said to change because family structures are fluid.

Question 7

Individual families' inability or failure to shoulder certain responsibilities should be equated with a loss of functions by the family as an institution

Question 8

The new social structure based on the market economy may prevent
individual families from fulfilling their responsibilities adequately.

Question 9

Affordable transportation has contributed to the existence of transnational families.

Question 10

Migration and family structures remain immune to the impacts of globalization.

Question 11

Army couples often have children at a younger age than persons in other occupational categories.

Question 12

The 20- to 29-year-old age group comprises the majority of Canadians involved in LAT Relationships.

Question 13

Soaps on television are extremely popular because they remind viewers of their own family problems.

Question 14

Mass culture produces realistic needs for families.

Question 15

Research demonstrates that television shows like Temptation Island, The Bachelor, and The Bachelorette promote values that have been found to relate to low marital quality and high divorce rates.

Question 16

Which of the following statements is true?

A) Family change is synonymous with moral family decline.
B) The family has lost some traditional functions and has gained new ones.
C) The family fulfills far fewer functions than it did in the 1950s.
D) The loss of family functions means that the family is a less useful institution.
E) The loss of family functions means that the family is a stronger institution

Question 17

Labelling families on the basis of ideological concerns or preferences may

A) depict the true structure of family.
B) help develop new theories on the family.
C) destroy the present structure of family.
D) prevent focus on the multiple functions that all families fulfill.
E) focus on the multiple functions that all families fulfill.

Question 18

Regarding the socialization of children, research indicates that, until mid-adolescence,

A) the education system is the most important agent of socialization.
B) other children are the most important agents of socialization.
C) parents are the most important agents of socialization.
D) media is the most important agent of socialization.
E) the internet is the most important agent of socialization.

Question 19

Which of the following functions have remained with the family over the course of time?

A) The function of coordination and management of extra-familial environments.
B) The economic function.
C) Policing what its children and youth access on television, the Internet, their cellphone, and what they want to buy.
D) It continues to be the sole agent of social integration at the personal and social levels
E) Monitoring their children's intellectual development.

Question 20

What does the following scenario suggest regarding the functions that many contemporary families fulfill? "Jenny's elderly aunt has recently been immobilized due to a stroke. Jenny's mother is supervising and scheduling the in-home care for her."

A) This is a function that families in the past would also have fulfilled.
B) This is an example of a function that has recently been imposed on families.
C) This is an example of a function that families should not be expected to fulfill.
D) This is an example of an additional function recently added to the family.
E) This is an example of a dysfunctional social safety net.

Question 21

What does it mean when we say that contemporary families are increasingly assuming the role of a welfare agency?

A) They are expected to hand out weekly allowances to their elderly retired parents.
B) They are expected to help the state care for their elderly parents.
C) They are expected to ask their neighbours to help with the care of their elderly parents.
D) They are expected to be the main caretakers of their elderly parents.
E) They are expected to help other people's elderly parents.

Question 22

Which of the following is an example of a new family function?

A) The reproduction and the socialization of children.
B) The provision of shelter.
C) The provision of nutrition and health care.
D) The coordination of services children receive from other institutions.
E) Establishing the socioeconomic status of family members.

Question 23

An important role fulfilled by families is conferring to its younger members their place within the social stratification system. This role is referred to as

A) The status function.
B) The identity function.
C) The psychological function.
D) The affective function.
E) The management function.

Question 24

Which of the following is an example of the family role referred to as "agency of social control"?

A) Monitoring their children's social and intellectual development.
B) Monitoring their children's computer and television consumption.
C) Monitoring their children's extra-familial environment.
D) Monitoring their children's psychological development.
E) Monitoring their children's physical security.

Question 25

If families are not as cohesive today as they were in the past then this is most likely
Because

A) They refuse to take on the required roles and functions that are necessary for a stable and healthy family.
B) Television and other media are competing for the hearts and minds of children.
C) They are having fewer children.
D) Families are no longer permitted to discipline their children.
E) Families are expected to take on a greater variety of roles and functions than was the case for families in the past.

Question 26

Economic deprivation, segregation, and social stigmatization,

A) are elements that prevent individual families from fulfilling their functions.
B) do not have any influence on families.
C) are indications of a dysfunctional family.
D) only affect same-sex families.
E) are elements that do not prevent individual families from fulfilling their functions.

Question 27

The concern over the "decline" in family functions most likely stems from

A) confusion between individual families' failures and the family as an institution.
B) religious and traditional beliefs about appropriate individual behaviour.
C) television depictions of families of the 1950s.
D) rapid changes in family structure.
E) inaccurate data.

Question 28

Rather than be concerned with the obsolence of the family, society's main concern should be

A) multigenerational families
B) religious observances in families.
C) the burdens placed on families with new functions.
D) patriarchy in family relations.
E) multicultural families in society.

Question 29

Which of the following statements about familial obligations in North American culture is correct?

A) North American society places an emphasis on familial obligation.
B) familial obligation is only relevant for immigrant families.
C) only female head of households have a sense of familial obligation.
D) across the world, cultures emphasize familial obligations and mutual support far more than North American culture does.
E) male head of households feel a sense of familial obligation.

Question 30

Which aspects of the new social structure bestows a new set of responsibilities for families?

A) political changes that emphasize conservatism.
B) citizenship rights
C) increases in social welfare programs.
D) a culture of individualism.
E) the gendered division of labour.

Question 31

An example of a 'socially driven' family problem is

A) divorce among couples
B) religious conflict in families.
C) economic deprivation
D) sibling rivalry in families
E) multigenerational family structures.

Question 32

_____ Which single factor could help families to successfully fulfill their numerous functions?

A) couples who marry earlier in life.
B) couples who have fewer children.
C) families that include grandparents living in their households.
D) assistance from political and other societal institutions.
E) couples who attend family therapy sessions.

Question 33

Which scenario describes a transnational family?

A) a father who works in Canada on a temporary work visa while his wife and children live in another country.
B) a multigenerational family with two or more members who are foreign born.
C) a family where the couple are from two different ethnic backgrounds.
D) a family that travels together from one country to another over a period of years.
E) a mother who works in another city than that of her husband and children.

Question 34

A 'wild geese' family in South Korean culture is one in which

A) the father migrates to Canada, leaving his wife and child behind.
B) the family migrates from one country to another in a nomadic fashion.
C) the mother and her children migrate to Canada while the father remains in South Korea.
D) the grandparents accompany the migrating family.
E) the parents migrate to Canada and leave their children to be cared by grandparents back in South Korea.

Question 35

The term _____ describes immigrant women whose husbands, within a few months
After their arrival in the host country, return again to work in their country of origin.

A) Transnational wives
B) Military wives
C) wives Illegal workers' wives
D) Guestworker wives
E) Astronaut wives

Question 36

Research indicates that military families would be benefitted by having more access to key resources, including especially

A) higher pay and better access to medical care.
B) better access to medical care and mental health.
C) longer leaves of absence and higher pay.
D) better means of communication and more housing subsidies.
E) better schools for their children and tighter network of friends.

Question 37

Certain aspects of military life make it difficult to cope with spousal violence. Which of the following is the best predictor of spousal abuse in the army?

A) A history of spousal abuse before entering the military.
B) The extent of the victims' economic dependency on their Canadian Forces spouse.
C) The peculiarities of Married Quarters neighbourhoods.
D) The frequency of the postings
E) The unfamiliar and closed environment of army bases.

Question 38

A growing phenomenon is the LAT (living apart together) family. In Canada, it is found most commonly

A) among well-paid professionals both of whom cannot move because of career obligations.
B) among young people who have yet to fully commit to marriage.
C) among couples with children from previous marriages.
D) within ethnic communities.
E) among those who earn less than the average income.

Question 39

One of the most salient historical developments for society, its families, and their children is

A) child labour laws and compulsory schooling
B) extra-residential unions.
C) The LAT (couples living apart together) phenomenon
D) audiovisual media.
E) the invention of the telephone.

Question 40

Changing family leisure trends in the 1960s occurred due to

A) a decrease in the socialization of children.
B) more time spent watching television.
C) more time spent in solitary pursuits like reading.
D) changes in musical preferences between younger and older generations.
E) increased participation in higher education.

Question 41

In general, parents like Sesame Street because

A) it teaches children to be kind to animals.
B) it contains religiously inspired themes and messages.
C) it contains no sex or violence.
D) it educates children about the importance of family life.
E) it acquaints children with different cultures.

Question 42

Stephanie Coontz called the nostalgia of this television show, "The Way We Never Were." What show is Coontz referring to?

A) Sesame Street.
B) The Mary Tyler Moore Show.
C) The Cosby Show.
D) Leave It to Beaver.
E) Fresh Prince of Bel Air.

Question 43

In order to prove that television violence contributes to making children more aggressive

A) longitudinal studies must be carried out.
B) children who watch more television have to be found to be more aggressive.
C) children who play video games have to be followed over time.
D) correlations have to be established between the two phenomena.
E) studies must include personal interviews with children.

Question 44

Research indicates that the internet

A) is not as popular as it was 10 years ago.
B) contains reliable information about family life.
C) has helped parents socialize their children.
D) is less family oriented than television viewing.
E) increases communication within the family.

Question 45

Viewing violent programs may teach children

A) conflict cannot be resolved with verbal and physical threats.
B) to have a higher threshold for frustration.
C) that there are no real consequences of killing.
D) aggressive techniques of play such as punching, kicking, or killing.
E) to question authority.

Question 46

Which of the following is a research result indicating that the sexual content of soap operas may influence adolescent behaviour?

A) Soaps have been found to contain more sex among single than married couples.
B) Adolescents who watch soaps develop a lenient attitude toward sexual infidelities.
C) Adolescents who watch soaps begin dating earlier than those who don't watch them.
D) Adolescents who watch soaps tend to be sexually aggressive.
E) Soaps become a major topic of conversation among adolescents.

Question 47

Which of the following statements is the best example of how the media distort reality?

A) 50 percent of the crimes shown on television are murders, while in reality murders represent only 0.2 percent of the crimes reported to the FBI
B) 0.2 percent of the crimes shown on television are murders, while in reality murders represent 50 percent of the crimes reported to the FBI.
C) The media's representation of murder rates matches the murder rates reported to the FBI
D) The media prevents the distribution of research results that could be damaging to their image.
E) The media depicts family life in the past as an example of how family life should look like today.

Question 48

Habermas has referred to television and the internet as an "insulating experience" which

A) splits children and adults from their everyday lives and leads to cultural impoverishment.
B) splits children and adults from the world around them and leads to cultural awareness.
C) protects the family from societal pressures.
D) brings families together as a communication unit.
E) builds on the knowledge parents and children acquire about the world around them.

Question 49

The Internet can be a dangerous form of information gathering because

A) erroneous and misleading information is too frequently accepted.
B) it is often done in complete isolation.
C) there is an abundance of excellent information.
D) families become too reliant on the internet as a source of information.
E) it is addictive.

Question 50

The rapid pace of technology change is argued to be

A) a positive influence for society.
B) a negative impact on the family.
C) creating a more solidified family structure.
D) causing a less individualistic society.
E) creating greater social interaction.

Question 51

The family has changed over time but has retained many if its traditional functions. List 4 of these functions and discuss the importance of maintaining such functions.

Question 52

Define and provide two examples of transnational families.

Question 53

Briefly describe the challenges faced by military families.

Question 54

How does television affect young people's sexual behaviours? Justify your answer with the help of research results.

Question 55

Discuss the role that audiovisual media may play in the development of problematic behaviours that may promote violence.

Question 56

The Internet is both a positive and negative form of media. Discuss the negative impact of the Internet on children as well as the positive aspects of the Internet in family life.