Deck 9: Family Demography, Raceethnicity, and Life Chances

Question 1

Of the following aspects of demographic change, the fact that ______ is least influential with respect to the family and household transition.

A) people are living longer
B) women are having fewer children
C) the population is increasingly urban
D) international migration has increased

Answer 1

D

Question 2

Educational homogamy refers to

A) people of the same sex with the same level of education.
B) marrying someone with a similar educational level.
C) the rise in educational attainment among women.
D) the fact that religious education has become more secular.

Answer 2

B

Question 3

Compared to men, working women are more likely to be in ________ occupations, and less likely to be in __________ occupations.

A) management; service
B) sales and office; natural resources, construction, and maintenance
C) service; professional and related
D) natural resources, construction, and maintenance; production, transportation, and material moving

Answer 3

B

Question 4

Most of the income gains for African American families relative to non-Hispanic whites in the United States came during the ______ period.

A) 1950s
B) 1960s
C) 1970s
D) 1980s

Question 5

The demographic conditions that support the "traditional" family are most likely to occur

A) before the demographic transition starts.
B) in the early stages of the demographic transition.
C) in the middle of the demographic transition.
D) late in the demographic transition.

Question 6

The region of the world with the greatest excess of female over male illiteracy is

A) northern Africa and the Middle East.
B) sub-Saharan Africa.
C) south Asia.
D) Latin America and the Caribbean.

Question 7

The life chances of most people will be least affected by

A) geographic location.
B) individual genetic structure.
C) family social structure.
D) social location.

Question 8

The _______ cohort of women has made the biggest gains in the labor force in the United States.

A) greatest generation
B) lucky few
C) baby boom
D) generation X

Question 9

The diversity of household types in the United States is most noticeable in terms of the percent of households that are

A) married couples with children.
B) married couples without children.
C) cohabiting couples.
D) other families without children.

Question 10

The inequality in the distribution of income in the United States means that the top 20 percent of earners bring in ___ percent of the nation's total income, compared to ___ percent for the bottom 20 percent.

A) 20; 10
B) 30; 7
C) 40; 5
D) 50; 3

Question 11

The demographic feature that is probably the biggest contributor to the rise in divorce rates is the

A) rise in life expectancy.
B) decline in fertility.
C) increase in cohabitation.
D) "me" generation.

Question 12

The rise in the age at marriage among women is least likely to be associated with higher

A) levels of female empowerment.
B) fertility rates.
C) probabilities of migrating from rural to urban areas.
D) probabilities of being a second wife in polygamous societies.

Question 13

The single most important contributor to a person's life chances is

A) being lifted out of poverty.
B) his or her gene pool.
C) the status of the individual's occupation.
D) his or her level of education.

Question 14

In the United States, women aged 25 and over who are full-time year-round workers with a graduate or professional degree make about ____ percent as much money as do men of the same age and economic activity.

A) 50
B) 75
C) 85
D) 90

Question 15

About ________ percent of the world's population is currently living at or below the international definition of poverty of $1.90 per day.

A) 10
B) 20
C) 40
D) 60

Question 16

The rise in cohabitation in richer countries is most associated demographically with

A) delayed marriage.
B) improved contraception.
C) rising levels of education.
D) increased availability of housing for single persons.

Question 17

The nature of a family is that it is a(n) _______ unit, whereas a household is a ________unit.

A) consumption; kinship
B) kinship; residential
C) economic; nonfamily
D) residential; family

Question 18

In the United States, wealth is concentrated in the _____ age group.

A) 35-44
B) 45-54
C) 55-64
D) 65+

Question 19

The rise in the number of female-headed households is most apt to be the result of a(n)

A) decline in fertility.
B) decline in mortality.
C) increase in the status of women.
D) increase in the urban population.

Question 20

With respect to race/ethnicity, the United States is currently experiencing what might best be described as

A) a diversity explosion.
B) a melting pot.
C) a generational shift from exclusion to inclusion.
D) a continuation or past trends.

Question 21

In the United States, men and women have nearly identical percentages of high school and college graduation.

Question 22

How do the differences in, or changes in, life chances for an individual affect the proximate determinants of his or her own family and household living arrangement? Pick one demographic characteristic such as education and discuss how different levels of that characteristic could affect the living arrangement choices that a person might make.

Question 23

Unlike in the United States, cohabitation has always been the norm in France.

Question 24

Why do you think that race and ethnicity affect life chances in so many different societies?

Question 25

What is/are the most important reason(s) why we should care about the increasing diversity in family and household structure?

Question 26

Discuss the ways in which each of the other components of the demographic transition lead up to and help explain the changes taking place in families and households.

Question 27

Hispanic households in the United States are more likely than any other group to be headed by a female.

Question 28

Women are more likely than men to be holding jobs in professional or related occupations.

Question 29

Wealth is measured as the sum of your assets and what you owe to others.

Question 30

Despite widespread changes, the traditional family of a married couple with children still accounts for a slight majority of households in the United States.

Question 31

Family members differ from household members in that the latter always live together, whereas the former may not.

Question 32

What is the difference between a kinship unit and a consumption unit, and why is the difference important to an understanding of the changes in family structure and composition?

Question 33

Incomes for African American families have been rising at a faster rate than for white families, yet the income gap has grown in absolute terms.

Question 34

Catholics have higher fertility levels than Protestants in the United States.

Question 35

Because it is not a biological attribute, religion is always considered to be an achieved characteristic.