Deck 13: Emergent Families in the Global Era

Question 1

Recent research on the African American middle class finds that it

A) consists mostly of two-parent families.
B) consists mostly of single-parent families.
C) is disappearing.
D) includes a rapidly growing segment of never married singles living alone.

Answer 1

D

Question 2

The situation in which the number of single women relative to single men increases with age is referred to as

A) reconstituted family options.
B) the marriage squeeze.
C) the mating gradient.
D) the manifest function of singlehood.

Answer 2

B

Question 3

According to the discussion of singlehood presented in the text,

A) most singles are never-married individuals who have been unable to find suitable marriage partners.
B) researchers project that approximately 10% of today's young women and men will never marry.
C) there are no longer any negative stereotypes about single people in the United States.
D) all of the above

Answer 3

B

Question 4

In Trimberger's research on a "new single woman," she found these women

A) have work that is financially satisfying, but not personally satisfying.
B) tend to be insecure about their sexuality.
C) formed ties to young people through friends and family.
D) usually relied on religious community for their main source of support.

Question 5

Cohabitation is almost always viewed as a prelude to marriage by the individuals involved in cohabiting relationships.

Question 6

According to the text,which type of household has increased most dramatically since 1970?

A) married couple
B) persons living alone
C) single parent
D) These household types changed very little.

Question 7

Demographers estimate that over one-quarter of young adults in the United States will choose singlehood as a permanent lifestyle.

Question 8

Which of the following have contributed to a growing proportion of Americans living alone?

A) The elderly population is increasing; this population includes many widows who live alone.
B) More people are living alone before marriage.
C) the postponement of marriage
D) all of the above

Question 9

Cohabitation and the single life may be seen as a reflection of both choice and structural constraints.

Question 10

Gay and lesbian couples are more likely to share decision making and household duties than are heterosexual couples.

Question 11

Current trends in household and family patterns in the United States are not limited to the United States,but represent global trends.

Question 12

According to the best estimates,approximately 20% of the U.S.population is homosexual.

Question 13

Existing domestic partner benefits programs benefit same-sex couples but exclude cohabiting heterosexual couples.

Question 14

The wide range of contemporary domestic arrangements in the United States represents

A) the first historical movement away from the typical nuclear family form.
B) an explanation for the decline in marriage rates.
C) both choice and adaptation to change in the structure of society.
D) all of the above

Question 15

Women who remain single tend to have more positive outcomes than men in terms of

A) societal acceptance of their lifestyle.
B) marriageability in later life.
C) personal happiness and mental health.
D) none of the above

Question 16

Commuter marriages are largely the result of women's increased entry into professional employment.

Question 17

Which of the following is not a global trend in family life and household formation?

A) The proportion of female-headed households has declined.
B) Women's age of first marriage and first birth has risen.
C) Families have gotten smaller.
D) Women's labor force participation has increased while men's has decreased.

Question 18

Which of the following is not cited in the text as an important factor in the increasing proportion of singles in the United States?

A) a large increase in the percentage of homosexual individuals
B) women's growing economic independence
C) higher levels of education for women
D) With industrialization, single individuals had the opportunity to live away from home and earn wages independent from their families.

Question 19

According to the U.S.Census,a household is two or more persons related by birth,marriage,or adoption who live together.

Question 20

The "marriage squeeze" refers to the pressure society exerts on cohabiting couples to marry.

Question 21

According to your text,why is transnational mothering an especially difficult adaptation?

A) Mothers leave domestic roles to be breadwinners in another nation.
B) Women experience guilt and criticism for their actions.
C) Women who have been primary caretakers leave their children, sometimes for extended periods of time.
D) all of the above

Question 22

With regard to gender differences in cohabiting individuals,research suggests that

A) women cohabiters are more likely than men to desire marriage.
B) cohabiting men have a stronger permanent commitment to their partner than do women.
C) previously married women are more eager to move from cohabitation to marriage than are their male counterparts.
D) gender differences are insignificant.

Question 23

According to research,which of the following describes the typical distribution of decision making and household duties in same-sex couples?

A) Lesbian couples share these tasks, while gay couples do not.
B) Gay couples share these tasks, while lesbian couples do not.
C) Neither lesbian nor gay couples share these tasks.
D) Both lesbian and gay couples share these tasks.

Question 24

Heterosexual cohabiting households increased by this percentage in the last two decades.

A) 25%
B) 50%
C) 150%
D) 200%

Question 25

Which of the following describes Weston's study of gays and lesbians in San Francisco?

A) Weston used random sampling techniques to select her sample.
B) This study focused on the family lives of gay and lesbian political activists.
C) Weston used friendship pyramiding and snowball sampling to achieve a sample that varied by race and class.
D) Weston's research used a combination of focus groups and a telephone survey.

Question 26

According to the authors of Sex in America,assessing the proportion of gays in the population is difficult because

A) sexual behavior is subject to change.
B) homosexuality cannot be defined by a single set of behaviors.
C) homosexual behavior is not easily measured.
D) all of the above

Question 27

Which of the following is accurate in describing gay and lesbian couples?

A) Most gay and lesbian couples have children.
B) Gay and lesbians who live with partners have higher educational attainment than men and women in heterosexual marriage.
C) Lesbians and gay men report lower satisfaction with their relationships than do heterosexual couples.
D) All of the above are accurate.

Question 28

Which of the following accurately characterizes transnational families?

A) Employment-related separations are becoming less common.
B) Labor migrants earn wages that are competitive with average U.S. earnings.
C) The family members at home bare a heavy burden of work and family responsibility.
D) The demand for female workers is declining with globalization.

Question 29

As cited in the text,Bumpass's research on cohabitation and the future of marriage suggests that

A) cohabitation as a pre-marital trial may keep the divorce rate from rising because many incompatible couples split up prior to marriage.
B) marriage is still the most significant landmark for couplesʹ relationships, even if they live together before marriage.
C) all cohabitation relationships should be considered as part of the marriage process.
D) all of the above

Question 30

Your text makes which of the following points about race and cohabitation?

A) Cohabitation serves the same purpose for all cohabiting persons of whatever racial group.
B) Single African American women have higher rates of cohabitation than Hispanic and White women.
C) All racial groups use cohabiting primarily as a prelude to marriage.
D) Economic factors have produced a long history of cohabitation among African-American and some Latino groups.

Question 31

Sharp and Ganong find that college-educated,single women,28 to 34,

A) mostly wanted to marry.
B) had mixed feelings about marriage.
C) enjoyed their independence.
D) all of the above
E) none of the above

Question 32

Which of the following does not characterize commuter couples?

A) They compartmentalize their lives into two areas: work and family.
B) They experience loneliness and lack of companionship.
C) They are less committed to their marital relationships than traditional couples.
D) Generally, both husbands and wives have professional employment.

Question 33

Which of the following conditions is cited as a benefit for commuter marriages?

A) The presence of children.
B) The ability to pursue careers without everyday family constraints.
C) Greater distance between households.
D) The romantic nature of this lifestyle.

Question 34

Gay and lesbian couples have which of the following legal benefits?

A) coverage under their partner's health plan
B) rights of inheritance and community property
C) survivor's benefits under their partner's pension
D) none of the above

Question 35

Which of the following accurately describes the cohabiting population?

A) Highest cohabitation rates are found among the elderly.
B) Black women have higher rates of cohabitation than do white women.
C) Over two-thirds of cohabiting couples include a divorced person.
D) All of the above are accurate.

Question 36

Recent research on gay and lesbian couples suggests that

A) gays and lesbians report lower satisfaction with their relationships than do heterosexual couples.
B) lesbians are more likely to have sexually exclusive relationships than are gay men.
C) most homosexual partners assume segregated roles of husband and wife.
D) all of the above

Question 37

In 2011,approximately what percentage of Fortune 500 companies offer domestic partner health benefits?

A) 17%
B) 37%
C) 58%
D) 87%

Question 38

In her analysis of health,happiness,and life satisfaction,DePaulo finds that

A) married people do much better than single people.
B) single people do much better than married people.
C) single and married people are much more alike than different.
D) formerly married individuals do much better than either never married or married individuals.

Question 39

The primary concern of the domestic partner movement is

A) providing family benefits to individuals in long-term committed relationships.
B) legalizing marriage between same-sex partners.
C) raising public consciousness about AIDS.
D) creating legal distinctions between benefits for cohabiting heterosexuals and benefits for their homosexual counterparts.

Question 40

A recent study of African American's attitudes toward commuting found that commuting was viewed as a way to combat which obstacle?

A) employment limitations
B) restrictive assumptions about one's skills and abilities
C) racial stereotypes and oppression
D) all of the above

Question 41

The proportion of the U.S.population living in alternative domestic arrangements has increased markedly.Discuss the social and structural factors that have contributed to this increase.

Question 42

Discuss the factors that explain the increase in heterosexual cohabitation.

Question 43

How do the relational values and domestic practices of gay and lesbian couples differ from each other? What parallels can be drawn between these patterns and those found in the population of heterosexual men and women?

Question 44

How are lesbians and gays broadening conventional understandings of the definition of "family"? Discuss the "chosen" kinship networks of gay families.

Question 45

According to the research of Gerstel and Gross,commuter marriages work best

A) when the children live with their mother.
B) when the husband earns more money than the wife.
C) for established couples whose children are grown.
D) before children are born.

Question 46

What explains the rise in commuter marriages? How do wives evaluate this arrangement? How do husbands evaluate this arrangement?