Deck 14: Divorce and Remarriage

Question 1

Divorce rates in the United States were higher in 2000 than at any time since records were kept.

Answer 1

False

Question 2

In the United States, half of all first marriages have disrupted due to separation or divorce by the fifth year.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

Informal separation is simply another term for desertion.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

The divorce data reported by the National Vital Statistics Division are highly accurate since they are based on a 100 percent count of all divorces recorded in the United States each year.

Question 5

In spite of their disapproval of divorce, Protestant fundamentalists have high dissolution rates.

Question 6

Studies suggest that divorcing mothers are faring much better economically under the no-fault system in comparison to the former adversary system.

Question 7

Generally, divorce rates decline in times of economic depression and rise during time of prosperity.

Question 8

The presence of children not only delays divorce, it prevents it as well.

Question 9

Marital separation always leads to divorce.

Question 10

The second, third, and fourth years of marriage appear to be the modal years for divorce.

Question 11

An increase in marital alternatives appears to be more important than attitudinal factors in hastening the transition to divorce.

Question 12

With some exceptions, such as among professional women, the divorce rate tends to go up as socioeconomic level goes down.

Question 13

The United States currently has the highest divorce rate in the world.

Question 14

National data suggest that more than one-fourth of divorced women fall into poverty for at least some time during the first five years after divorce while men who divorce are immediately better off financially.

Question 15

Divorce rates, by region of the United States, are lowest in the south.

Question 16

Divorce by agreement, where both husband and wife desire divorce, is a simple procedure and without cost to the applicants in China.

Question 17

The official law of Islam and of Judaism grants free power of the husband to terminate his marriage by repudiation of the wife.

Question 18

Evidence suggests an increase in mid-life divorce as couples experience a mid-life crisis.

Question 19

Emile Durkheim theorized that societies with lower degrees of social integration typically share higher rates of suicide.

Question 20

Distressed neighborhoods, rather than disrupting existing marriages among couples with children, increases the prevalence of single parent families and out-of-wedlock childbearing.

Question 21

In Sweden, marital and couple breakup

A) is very low compared to most industrialized countries.
B) is easy to determine since most people cohabit rather than marry.
C) may be the highest in the industrialized world.
D) is highest for those with two or more children.

Question 22

According to the text, in regard to desertion and marital separation,

A) desertion is not institutionalized.
B) the majority of separations are legalized.
C) limited divorce and partial dissolution are both used interchangeably with informal separation.
D) desertion is usually associated with legal separation.

Question 23

Over 45 percent of marriages in the United States are remarriages for one or both partners.

Question 24

There was no difference found in the scores of complex versus simple stepfamilies in areas of financial management, communications, personality, or adjustment.

Question 25

Joint custody is generally defined as an arrangement where the child spends nearly equal time with each of the two parents.

Question 26

The mean age at remarriage after widowhood for women is ten years less that the mean age at widowhood.

Question 27

Most children of divorce have two homes with the majority living most of the time with their mothers, but spending week-ends and vacation times with their nonresident fathers.

Question 28

A study of 66 countries found that a societal-level correlate to an increased likelihood of divorce was

A) increased female labor force participation in the countries early stages of industrialization.
B) the level of socioeconomic development in the countries early stages of industrialization.
C) a late average age at marriage for women.
D) a low sex ratio.

Question 29

Which of the following would be the least likely basis for an annulment?

A) being underage for marriage
B) having another spouse
C) impotence not known to the spouse before marriage
D) adultery

Question 30

By race, remarriage is both more likely and more quickly experienced for black women than for white women.

Question 31

Based on research findings, it appears that adolescent children are better off in intact homes that have parents in high conflict marriages than in homes with divorced parents.

Question 32

Divorce in China

A) is simple and without cost if both parties agree to it.
B) requires that both parties agree to it.
C) has rates very similar to industrialized countries.
D) is illegal and no accurate data is available on informal separation.

Question 33

Custodial fathers represent about 20 percent of custodial parents, while custodial mothers represent about 80 percent.

Question 34

The step-parenting experience is more difficult for the stepfather than the stepmother and made more difficult with live-in stepchildren.

Question 35

To say that a marriage is annulled is to indicate that

A) the couple in the marriage was incompatible.
B) a court found causes existed prior to the marriage that made the marriage contract void.
C) the Catholic church disapproved of it and failed to recognize it as legitimate.
D) the marriage never existed except if the birth of child is involved, which legitimizes the union.

Question 36

The most promising route to economic recovery for divorced women is obtaining or increasing child support from the father.

Question 37

Remarriage rates are higher for men than for women, but women are just as prone to cohabit as men.

Question 38

Child support has been found to be a negative factor in the remarriage of divorced mothers.

Question 39

Divorced Japanese women are much more likely to remarry than their American female counterparts.

Question 40

Parents who cohabited before remarriage had less negative parent-child relationships after marriage.

Question 41

The statement that is true about divorce rates is

A) they tend to increase during times of prosperity and decrease in times of depression.
B) they tend to increase as socioeconomic level goes down.
C) professional women, compared to women in general, are more likely to get divorced.
D) All of the above three statements are true.

Question 42

Are children a deterrent to the divorce of their parents?

A) Yes. Children of all ages deter divorce.
B) Yes and no. Young preschool children deter divorce, but older children increase the chances.
C) No and yes. Young children increase the chances of divorce, but older children deter the chances.
D) No. Children of all ages increase divorce.

Question 43

In the United States, remarriage is more likely for

A) black than for white women.
B) women than for men.
C) women with higher incomes.
D) women not in the paid labor force.

Question 44

Joint custody (as opposed to single custody) arrangements appear to result in

A) fewer emotional and behavior problems in the children.
B) greater father compliance in financial child support obligations.
C) higher satisfaction among both parents and children with the arrangements.
D) all of the above happening.

Question 45

Census and other reports document the fact that child support awards are received in full by close to

A) 100 percent of the children.
B) 75 percent of the children
C) 50 percent of the children
D) 25 percent of the children

Question 46

The consequences of divorce for adults include

A) younger individuals adjusting better to divorce than older individuals.
B) no direct relationship with suicide.
C) an increase in standard of living for both men and women.
D) an opening up of and greater availability of close, confiding relationships.

Question 47

Which statement is true about remarriage?

A) Over two-thirds of all marriages are remarriages for one or both partners.
B) Men are less likely to remarry than women.
C) The rate of remarriage has declined over the past few decades.
D) None of the above three statements about remarriage are true.

Question 48

Divorce mediation is a conflict resolution process that occurs

A) in the early years of a marriage to prevent future marital dissolution.
B) during legal separation to prevent a subsequent divorce.
C) during the divorce process to help negotiate mutually agreeable decisions regarding property distribution, support, and child custody.
D) following divorce to facilitate adjustment to singlehood.

Question 49

A macro level analysis suggests that divorce rates in the United States and elsewhere have been reduced by

A) increasing the age at marriage.
B) having more people convert to fundamental Christianity.
C) one spouse "just saying no" to divorce.
D) All of the above three are documented ways to reduce the divorce rate.

Question 50

Joint custody is generally defined as an arrangement in which

A) the child spends an equal time with each parent.
B) the child spends at least 30 percent of the time with each parent.
C) each parent gets some time with the child or children.
D) each parent gets at least one of the children in homes with two or more.

Question 51

By gender, the economic consequences of divorce

A) improve for both men and women.
B) improve for women and decline for men.
C) improve for men and decline for women.
D) decline for both men and women.

Question 52

When compared to heterosexual parents, the literature concludes that granting custody and visitation rights to homosexual parents

A) results in no differences in parenting styles, child adjustment, or sexual orientation.
B) is not in the best interest of the child.
C) results in a tendency for the children to become confused over their own sexual orientation.
D) causes children to fail to develop an appropriate role model of the opposite sex.

Question 53

Under no-fault divorce,

A) consent of both parties is required.
B) women and mothers are faring more poorly than under the fault system.
C) the person not at fault gets a disproportionate amount of the settlement.
D) All of the above three are true.

Question 54

The most common years for divorce is during

A) the first year of marriage.
B) the second, third, or fourth year of marriage.
C) the middle years as couples face a mid-life crisis.
D) old age.

Question 55

According to the text, in the United States, divorce rates

A) are very low among young marriages.
B) are highest eight to ten years after the marriage.
C) tend to increase as one moves from east to west.
D) are very low among conservative Protestant denominations.

Question 56

The statement that is true about divorce in the United States a decade ago is that

A) the modal years for divorce were the tenth and eleventh years of marriage.
B) the average interval between the first marriage and divorce was about eleven years.
C) the median length of all marriages is about eleven years.
D) All of the above three are true.

Question 57

In 2007, the divorce rate in the United States was approximately

A) 3.6 per 1,000 persons in the total population.
B) 16.7 per 1.000 married women, age 18 and over.
C) 49 per 100 marriages begun in that year.
D) all of the above three.

Question 58

When compared to first marriages, it appears that remarriages

A) are more stable as a result of prior marital experience.
B) are less likely to end in divorce.
C) have fewer financial difficulties as a result of being older and more secure.
D) are or have none of the above. All are false.

Question 59

Divorce differentials on the basis of major religious affiliation reveal that

A) considered as a whole, Protestants have a rate of marital dissolution that is moderately higher than for Catholics.
B) Catholics have the lowest divorce rate of all major groups.
C) the highest rates of divorce exist among those with high religious involvement.
D) the lowest rates of divorce exist among the most conservative Protestant denominations.

Question 60

Compared to adolescent children in intact parental homes, adolescent children of divorced parents

A) show few differences in behavior from other adolescents.
B) are more likely to get married themselves.
C) delay marriage, that is, marry at a later age.
D) None of the above three are true.

Question 61

Remarriages

A) have higher rates of divorce if adolescent stepchildren are present.
B) are more likely among Japanese women than American women.
C) tend to be more stable than first marriages.
D) Both A and B of the above three are true.

Question 62

Define desertion, marital separation, annulment, and divorce. How does desertion differ from marital separation? How does annulment differ from divorce? Provide examples.

Question 63

Stepfamilies with children from just one parent are termed __________ stepfamilies, in contrast to __________ stepfamilies that have children from both parents.

Question 64

Why are marriages more unstable and divorce rates higher at lower socioeconomic levels? In light of this, how does one explain the exception that exists for professional women?

Question 65

Divorce rates tend to be calculated in three ways. What are they? What are some advantages and limitations of each method?

Question 66

Divorce __________ is a conflict resolution process to help negotiate mutually agreeable decisions regarding property and so forth.

Question 67

__________ is the state in the United States with the highest rate of divorce.

Question 68

A major exception to the inverse relationship between socioeconomic status and the divorce rate is among __________.

Question 69

Complex stepfamilies are those

A) that include adolescents and pre-adolescents.
B) where the father does not see or support his children or stepchildren.
C) that include children from both parents.
D) with multiple problems (marital, financial, alcohol, etc.).

Question 70

Following a divorce, the separation of siblings so that each parent gets at least one child is known as __________ custody.

Question 71

Which statement is true about stepfamilies?

A) Stepfamilies have less pathological behaviors than first families.
B) Stepmothers are more satisfied with their relationships with stepchildren than are stepfathers.
C) Complex stepfamilies experience greater dissatisfaction and stress than simple stepfamilies.
D) None of the above statements are true.

Question 72

A key explanation for the decline in the rate of remarriage over the past several decades is the rising rate of __________.

Question 73

Describe variations in divorce in the United States by (a) geography, (b) age of husband and wife, (c) duration of marriage, (d) race, (e) religion, and (f) socioeconomic status.

Question 74

Based on causes that existed prior to the marriage, __________ renders a marriage contract void.

Question 75

In the country of __________, a divorce by agreement is simple and of no cost to the applicants when both husband and wife agree to it.

Question 76

Two key determinants of economic well-being for divorced custodial mothers are (1) child support and (2) __________.

Question 77

The adversary divorce system in which one person is guilty and the other innocent has been replaced in all states with __________ divorce.

Question 78

Which statement has research shown to be true about stepfamilies and children in stepfamilies?

A) Complex stepfamilies experience greater satisfaction and less stress than do those in simple stepfamilies.
B) Nearly half of all children in stepfamilies had not seen their nonresident fathers in the past year.
C) The role of the stepfather is more difficult than that of the stepmother.
D) The longer the time period between a divorce and remarriage, the better the adjustment of the children to the remarriage.

Question 79

In cases of __________, the husband and wife are married but authorized to live apart with formal agreements specifying visiting patterns, support, and so forth.

Question 80

Remarriage was said to create __________ where uncertainty exists as to who is part of the family and is responsible for certain roles and responsibilities.