Deck 12: Divorce

Question 1

On the basis of the most recently available information, the racial-ethnic group with the highest divorce rate in the United States is

A)Asian.
B)African American.
C)non-Hispanic white.
D)Native American.

Answer 1

B

Question 2

What is the primary reason why couples who cohabit prior to marriage have a higher chance of getting divorced?

A)less committed to each other
B)weaker commitment to the institution of marriage
C)they love each other less
D)none of these

Answer 2

B

Question 3

In the context of parenting approaches, ________ is one in which parents regularly provide a mix of emotional support and moderate, consistent discipline to their children.

A)authoritative parenting
B)diminished parenting
C)neglectful parenting
D)idle parenting

Answer 3

A

Question 4

Of the following couples, which one is the least likely to divorce in contemporary U.S. society?

A)couples with the same religious background
B)couples where the wife is much older than the husband
C)couples who married as teenagers
D)couples with significant age differences

Question 5

People who marry as teenagers have a lower likelihood of divorce than those who postpone marriage.

Question 6

In the context of child custody, a ________ is one in which one spouse can make decisions without consulting the other partner.

A)joint legal custody
B)third-party custody
C)sole legal custody
D)bird's nest custody

Question 7

Historically, in most cases of divorce, mothers retained legal and physical custody of their children.

Question 8

Which of the following is a prerequisite in a married stepfamily?

A)It requires that all children from the stepfamily live in the same household.
B)It requires that every child born to the stepfather be under the physical custody of the stepfather.
C)It requires that at least one of the adults have a child from a previous marriage or relationship.
D)It requires that the biological mother in the stepfamily be previously married to the biological father of her children.

Question 9

During the 1970s, the enactment of "no-fault" divorce led to a rapid decline in divorce in the United States.

Question 10

Who among the following is least likely to obtain a legal divorce after separation?

A)a Mexican American woman
B)a white woman
C)an African American woman
D)an Asian American woman

Question 11

In the context of union dissolution, which of the following forms of parenting is most likely to occur during the crisis period?

A)diminished parenting
B)authoritative parenting
C)authoritarian parenting
D)narcissistic parenting

Question 12

On the basis of what we know of the currently available research reports, children of divorced parents

A)experience a crisis period after the divorce.
B)resume normal development within two years after the divorce.
C)may experience problems that may persist into adulthood.
D)experience all of these.

Question 13

Union repartnering is the formation of new unions either by remarriage or a new cohabiting union.

Question 14

Women's employment in the United States has had the effect, overall, of

A)reducing the likelihood of divorce.
B)keeping the divorce rate stable.
C)making divorce more likely.
D)not affecting the divorce rate.

Question 15

Which of the following statements is true about cohabitation?

A)Premarital cohabitation greatly increases the risk of divorce.
B)In Europe, premarital cohabitation has a huge effect on divorce in countries in which about half of all couples live together before marrying.
C)Cohabitation is now more common and more accepted, and it is more compatible with stable marriage.
D)Cohabitation is disastrous as it prevents couples from having a trial run at marriage.

Question 16

Which of the following individual risk factors increases the likelihood of divorce?

A)premarital cohabitation
B)young age at marriage
C)being African American
D)all of these

Question 17

Today, looking at the divorce rates as they are, we can say that they have _________________ they were in the 1980s.

A)remained relatively the same
B)increased sharply
C)increased slightly
D)decreased slightly

Question 18

Which of the following statements is true about the psychosocial effects of parental union dissolution on children?

A)Transitions out of two-parent families are less problematic for children than transitions into them.
B)Children from cohabiting-parent families that break up are particularly likely to experience multiple transitions.
C)Crisis period for children typically occurs five to six years after their parents' divorce or separation.
D)Most children adjust quickly from their parents' dissolution due to the "diminished parenting" style adopted by their parents.

Question 19

In the context of union dissolution, identify an accurate statement about African American women.

A)African American women who are cohabiting are less likely to marry their partners.
B)African American women have lower rates of marital separation than other racial-ethnic groups.
C)African American women who separate from their husbands are more likely to obtain a legal divorce.
D)African American women turn separations into divorces at a quick pace.

Question 20

Some studies indicate that there is a "divorce gene" that predisposes some people to divorce.

Question 21

Why are teenagers more likely to divorce than those people who are older when they marry?

Question 22

What did Cherlin mean when he said that for many adults and children, a divorce does not signal the end of changes in their family lives?

Question 23

In the context of providing economic support to children, single fathers tend to have higher incomes and more education than married fathers.

Question 24

What are the factors at work that make life difficult for children after the breakup of their parent's marriage?

Question 25

Why might fathers maintain more contact with their children following a divorce than they have in the past?

Question 26

The independence effect could explain why women's employment could lower the likelihood of divorce because of the increase in family income.

Question 27

What makes it so difficult for researchers, government agencies, and others to obtain a meaningful divorce rate for our country?

Question 28

Give one explanation for why children of divorced parents would be less likely to divorce themselves as adults, and give one explanation for why they would be more likely to divorce.

Question 29

Why would it be difficult to maintain joint physical custody of children following a divorce? What might be easier about this arrangement?

Question 30

Why would an African American woman be more likely to divorce than her comparable (in age and education, for example) white female friend?

Question 31

African Americans have substantially higher rates of marital separation than most other racial-ethnic groups.

Question 32

What were the effects of no-fault divorce on marriage and the family?

Question 33

What are some of the individual risk factors that increase the likelihood of divorce?

Question 34

How does legal custody differ from physical custody in a divorce settlement?

Question 35

Describe the major racial and ethnic differences in divorce.