Deck 6: Separation and Divorce

Question 1

According to a national study in 2004, what percentage of Canadians still believe that "marriage should last a lifetime"?

A) 95
B) 75
C) 60
D) 50
E) 25

Answer 1

95

Question 2

What is the source of the quote "Marriage can only be dissolved by the natural death of one of the parties involved; while both live, it is indissoluble?"

A) Nineteenth-century Ontario Supreme Court
B) Nineteenth-century Quebec Civil Code
C) Early twentieth-century Quebec Civil Code
D) Early twentieth-century Ontario Supreme Court
E) Early twentieth-century Divorce Act of Canada

Answer 2

Nineteenth-century Quebec Civil Code

Question 3

In the early decades of the twentieth century, what was nearly the only viable grounds for marriage dissolution?

A) Abandonment
B) Adultery
C) Abuse
D) Bigamy
E) Incarceration

Answer 3

Adultery

Question 4

Which of the following terms is best described as the practice that at marriage "women lost most of their property rights", enduring instead a "suspension of the independent existence of the wife, and an absorption by the husband of the woman's person and all her belongings?"

A) The doctrine of "marital unity"
B) The doctrine of "marital permanence"
C) The "cult of domesticity"
D) The Catholic sacrament of marriage
E) The doctrine of "marital purity"

Question 5

Who was the target of the public financial support program called "mother's allowance," when it emerged across Canada during and after the First World War?

A) All mothers in Canada
B) Mothers who were single by choice or deserted by their husbands
C) Mothers who were widowed or whose husbands were unable to work
D) Mothers who left the paid workforce and returned to the home after the war
E) All mothers regardless of marital status or circumstance

Question 6

Typically, how many divorces occurred each year in Canada before the 1960s?

A) Fewer than 100
B) A few hundred
C) Around 700
D) A few thousand
E) More than 10,000

Question 7

Which Act was the first to allow no-fault divorces?

A) Provincial marriage laws in the nineteenth century
B) 1968 Divorce Act
C) 1985 Divorce Act
D) 2005 Civil Marriage Act
E) No-fault divorce is not legal in Canada.

Question 8

Which of the following was not a key factor leading to more modern and liberal divorce laws in Canada over the last half of the twentieth century?

A) Secularization
B) Increased individual autonomy
C) Decreasing number of children in Canadian families
D) Increased employment opportunities for women
E) Greater dissatisfaction with traditional institutional boundaries

Question 9

Which population has seen the largest relative growth between 1991 and 2019?

A) Canadians living in common-law relationships
B) Canadians living in legally married relationships
C) Canadians living alone following divorce
D) Single Canadians living alone
E) Canadian couples living together apart

Question 10

According to data from 2019, what percentage of younger Canadians (age 15-44) are living as single or never-married?

A) 25%
B) 40%
C) 50%
D) 75%
E) 80%

Question 11

What was the increase in older Canadians (45-64) living in common-law relationships from 1991 to 2019?

A) 10%
B) 50%
C) 100%
D) 200%
E) 400%

Question 12

The decline in first marriages has been more pronounced among which population?

A) Women with less education
B) Women who have had premarital pregnancy
C) Women who are visible minorities
D) Women who have no religious affiliation
E) Both a and b

Question 13

In general, how does the divorce rate in Canada compare with that of the United States?

A) Canada's divorce rate has consistently been lower.
B) Canada's divorce rate has recently become lower.
C) Canada's divorce rate has consistently been higher.
D) Canada's divorce rate is significantly higher.
E) Canada's divorce rate is slightly higher.

Question 14

While fewer young people marry or delay the process, those who ultimately do end up marrying appear to have ____________ marriages on average.

A) higher quality or relatively more stable
B) significantly higher quality but less stable
C) lower quality or relatively less stable
D) significantly lower quality and less stable
E) similar quality and relatively equally stable

Question 15

Although it is commonly stated that half of all marriages end in divorce, the more accurate figure in Canada is _____

A) about 2 in 10.
B) about 4 in 10.
C) about 6 in 10.
D) about 8 in 10.
E) This varies greatly depending on the specific year.

Question 16

How do men and women's living arrangements compare following a divorce?

A) More divorced women live alone than divorced men.
B) More divorced men live alone than divorced women.
C) Men and women are equally likely to live alone following a divorce.
D) Age is a more significant factor than gender.
E) Statistics Canada no longer collects this information.

Question 17

Cheng-Tong and Schofer's 2018 research on divorce trends in 84 countries revealed which general pattern?

A) An overall climb in divorce rates around the world
B) An overall decrease in divorce rates around the world
C) A wide range of diverse trends related to divorce rates
D) Stability in divorce rates around the world
E) A clear distinction between Latin America and the rest of the world

Question 18

Comparative research on global trends in divorce attributes increasing divorce rates to all but which of the following?

A) Urbanization
B) Increased incomes
C) Mass education
D) Improved status of women
E) Declining fertility rates

Question 19

Which perspective stresses the principles of continual human development, the constraints of history and social circumstances, the timing of transitions, and the importance of linked lives and networks of social relationships?

A) Primary socialization
B) Secondary socialization
C) Life course perspective
D) Life cycle perspective
E) Family development perspective

Question 20

Which of the following terms is best described as 'an individual's earliest exposure to human interaction and the manner in which specific social environments help shape everything from language(s) acquisition through to personality development, intellectual growth, and general well-being?'

A) Main socialization
B) Primary socialization
C) Families of origin
D) Life course perspective
E) Family socialization

Question 21

Which perspective is based on the belief that parents model for children their responses to conflict and children will carry forth patterns and behaviours from their parents' relationship into their own adult relationship?

A) Social learning perspective
B) Social life course perspective
C) Socialization
D) Social exchange perspective
E) Parental learning perspective

Question 22

Alex and Pat got divorced after 5 years of marriage. They were married at age 18, had one child before they were married, neither completed high school, were non-religious, and both had experienced their parents' divorce. Which of these factors is not considered a predictor of divorce?

A) Teen marriage
B) Child before marriage
C) Low education levels
D) Lack of religious affiliation
E) Parental divorce

Question 23

Where in Canada is cohabitation the most widely practiced?

A) Quebec and the territories
B) Ontario and the territories
C) Ontario and Quebec
D) Quebec, Ontario, and British Columbia
E) Quebec and British Columbia

Question 24

Which of the following statements is true for children in the province of Quebec?

A) The majority of children are born into blended families.
B) The majority of children are born to LGBTQI+ parents.
C) The majority of children are born to unmarried parents.
D) The majority of children have no siblings.
E) The majority of children are born to parents who are legally married.

Question 25

When did researchers first begin to notice the increasing trend of couples choosing to "live apart together" (LAT)?

A) 1950s
B) 1970s
C) 1990s
D) 2000s
E) 2010s

Question 26

Fran and Frankie are divorced after 5 years of marriage and raising a child together who is now 10. Following the separation Fran did not move out of the home, but instead moved into the basement bedroom to remain close to her child. What term best reflects the living arrangement of Fran and Frankie?

A) Living Apart Together
B) Living Together Apart
C) Cohabitation
D) Common-law
E) Co-Parental Living

Question 27

Which of the following factors is a key contributor to the decrease in marriages resulting from extramarital pregnancy?

A) Legalization of abortion
B) Availability of contraceptives and abortion
C) Increased gender equality at home and in the workforce
D) Both a and b
E) All of a, b, and c

Question 28

Which of the following statements on experiences around marriage and divorce is not true?

A) The effects of a possible separation, arguably, precede the formal conclusion of a relationship.
B) Even in the best of circumstances, the lived experiences of family members almost always involve some degree of conflict.
C) Children consistently experience more negative impacts following a divorce than their parents.
D) Intimate partner violence, when present in a family, often ramps up and intensifies during separation.
E) Divorce leads to significant changes to one's daily routine and living arrangements.

Question 29

Research consistently demonstrates that _____ experience the greatest range of negative effects following a divorce.

A) women
B) men
C) children
D) future spouses
E) grandparents

Question 30

What is the greatest single issue that negatively impacts women following divorce?

A) Physical safety from former spouse
B) Economic consequences
C) Limited opportunities for re-partnering
D) Decline in physical health
E) Decline in mental health

Question 31

A growing body of research indicates ________ represents the single most important factor for ensuring healthy child adjustments and development, regardless of living arrangement.

A) attachment parenting
B) effective parenting
C) equitable parenting
D) child-centred parenting
E) maternal parenting

Question 32

How many Canadian children are living in lone-parent households?

A) Around 1 in 10
B) Around 2 in 10
C) Around 5 in 10
D) Around 6 in 10
E) Around 7 in 10

Question 33

In 2016, stepfamilies accounted for what percentage of couple families with children under 25 in Canada?

A) 2%
B) 12%
C) 20%
D) 25%
E) 40%

Question 34

When Nicky and Cary got married they each brought a child from a previous marriage into their new family and household. This type of arrangement is an example of a _______

A) simple stepfamily.
B) straight stepfamily.
C) complex stepfamily.
D) cohabitating stepfamily.
E) multi-blended stepfamily.

Question 35

The rate of marriage dissolution is the highest for which population in Canada?

A) Immigrants
B) Generation X
C) LGBTQI+ community
D) Baby Boomers
E) The upper class

Question 36

Until the twentieth century, a marriage essentially constituted an economic transaction that involved not just the couple but had implications for their families as well.

Question 37

Prior to Parliament's passage of the Divorce Act in 1968, abandonment was the single, universally acceptable reason for divorce.

Question 38

The 1968 Divorce Act established a unified legal approach that gave both spouses equal rights to pursue divorces.

Question 39

The divorce rate remained low throughout the early 1900s before edging up slowing in the 1930s and following the Second World War.

Question 40

There were never more than 10,000 divorces in any year before the 1960s.

Question 41

The divorce rate in Canada has consistently risen since the introduction of the 1985 Divorce Act.

Question 42

Most Canadians currently believe an uncontested divorce should only be possible if a partner engages in cruelty or abuse.

Question 43

The proportion of individuals currently divorced has increased from 4.3 per cent to 6.1 per cent since 1991.

Question 44

The percentage of single individuals in Canada has decreased slightly since 1991.

Question 45

The proportion of Canadians living common-law and who have never legally married more than doubled from 1991 to 2019.

Question 46

The widely cited American-based claim that half of all marriages end in divorce is relatively accurate for Canada as well.

Question 47

In 2011, Statistics Canada announced they would no longer be collecting marriage and divorce information as part of their Vital Statistics program.

Question 48

In tandem with the increased ethnic diversity of Canada as a whole, the divorced population also has become more ethnically diverse.

Question 49

Despite the rates of marriage declining in Canada, the age of first marriage in Canada has remained consistent over the past few decades.

Question 50

While fewer young people marry or delay the process, those who ultimately do end up marrying appear to have higher quality and more stable marriages, on average.

Question 51

"Baby boomers" born between 1946 and 64 are less likely to divorce than the generations that preceded them.

Question 52

In 2016, fewer divorced men lived alone than their female counterparts.

Question 53

Divorced men are more likely to live in multigenerational households than divorced women.

Question 54

According to global research, incidence of divorce has tended to be highest in Northern/Western Europe and among the European settler colonies of North America and Oceania.

Question 55

Research by Cheng-Tong and Schofer indicates that divorce rates in both China and Latin America have risen noticeably over the past 40 years.

Question 56

While Canada's divorce rate still remains relatively high by world standards, unlike most nations the Canadian rate appears to be on a moderate downward trajectory.

Question 57

An Angus Reid Institute (2018) national poll found that around 20 per cent of the respondents felt that exchanging vows and having a formal marriage was either "not that important" or "not at all important".

Question 58

The behaviours and expectations learned in early childhood have little influence in adult relationships when compared with the socialization that occurs in adolescence and young adulthood.

Question 59

Research shows that parental divorce increases the odds of their children's marriages and common-law unions being disrupted.

Question 60

For more than a decade, the majority of children in Quebec have been born to unmarried parents.

Question 61

In Canada, the evidence suggests that those people in cohabitating relationships face a lower risk of union disruption than married couples.

Question 62

The possible negative impacts of divorce on children can be diverse and there is no simple correspondence between separation/divorce and child outcomes.

Question 63

Although women face a number of different challenges than men following divorce, the greatest single issue is the economic consequences.

Question 64

The degree of familial conflict to which youngsters are exposed has both direct and indirect effects on their well-being, regardless of living arrangements.

Question 65

Fewer than a million Canadians have experienced episodes of living as children in a lone-parent family.

Question 66

Single mothers with dependent children are among the poorest of Canadians.

Question 67

Lone-parent families are at equal risk to two-parent families of feeling isolated or a lack of sense of belonging.

Question 68

In 2016, stepfamilies accounted for more than 25% of couple families with children in Canada.

Question 69

A growing number of Canadian two-parent families now contain a step-parent, most often a stepmother.
Short

Question 70

Describe divorce in nineteenth-century Canada.

Question 71

What were the most significant aspects of the 1968 Divorce Act?

Question 72

How did the 1985 Divorce Act change Canadian laws around divorce?

Question 73

What factors contributed to the increasing cultural acceptance of divorce over the last half of the twentieth century?

Question 74

What are three trends in family, marriage and divorce between 1991 and today?

Question 75

Why is the commonly cited statistic that "half of all marriages end in divorce" inaccurate for Canada?

Question 76

What are global patterns in divorce rates and what factors contribute to these trends?

Question 77

How is early socialization connected to experiences of marriage and divorce?

Question 78

What can a life course perspective bring to the study of marriage and divorce?

Question 79

Explain how the decrease in extramarital pregnancy is connected to lower divorce rates.

Question 80

What are the differences between "Living Apart Together" and "Living Together Apart"?