Contemporary Social Problems
Exam Questions
Course Introduction
Contemporary Social Problems explores the major issues and challenges facing modern societies, such as poverty, inequality, crime, discrimination, health care, and environmental degradation. This course examines the causes and consequences of these problems, the role of social institutions in their development and perpetuation, and the effectiveness of proposed solutions and policy responses. Through the use of sociological theories and empirical research, students learn to critically analyze social problems in a global context and consider various perspectives and strategies for social change.
Recommended Textbook
Diversity in Families 10th Edition by Maxine Baca Zinn
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14 Chapters
675 Verified Questions
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Page 2
Chapter 1: Images,Ideals,and Myths
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Sample Questions
Q1) The authors of the text make which of the following points about the effects of divorce on children?
A) Divorce is tearing apart the fabric of society.
B) Analysts sometimes overstate evidence on the negative effects of divorce and ignore evidence finding that most children from divorced families do quite well.
C) The effects of divorce on children should not be seen as negative in any way.
D) none of the above
Answer: B
Q2) Age and gender are key factors influencing an individual's experience of family life.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
Q3) Marcia Millman's research on family dynamics cited in the text found that A) rivalries and conflicts of interest are common in families.
B) families use money to achieve social control.
C) family relations can be more similar to business relations than different.
D) all of the above
Answer: D
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3
Chapter 2: Preindustrial Families and the Emergence of a Modern Family Form
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Q1) Aggregate data analysis refers to the research method that A) involves population-level analysis of family trends.
B) uses only oral history accounts of older people.
C) studies the artifacts of an individual family history across generations.
D) focuses on the history-making activities of the upper classes.
Answer: A
Q2) The most important themes to emerge from historical studies of the family are all except which of the following?
A) the diversity in family types
B) the uneven change in family patterns
C) an ever-increasing divorce rate
D) the social agency of family members
Answer: C
Q3) During the period of the emergence of the modern family,the phrase "angels of the house" referred to A) women.
B) children.
C) visiting nurses.
D) none of the above
Answer: A
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Chapter 3: The Historical Making of Family Diversity
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Q1) According to Gutman,which of the following statements accurately portrays Black families during slavery?
A) "Matrifocal" households were the dominant form.
B) House slaves chose long term family relationships, but slaves in "the quarters" were very promiscuous.
C) Two parent families were the dominant form.
D) The dominant form was what is today referred to as female-headed family households.
Answer: C
Q2) Research on family life during the Great Depression finds that A) most family patterns remained unchanged.
B) government programs helped to increase the independence of women.
C) unemployment affected different ethnic and racial groups in the same way.
D) fewer and fewer women looked for work outside of the home.
Answer: B
Q3) Social reproduction refers to the work of caring for families in the home.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
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Page 5
Chapter 4: Families and the New Economic Realities
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Q1) Since the Great Recession,the problem of hunger in the U.S.has
A) declined somewhat.
B) declined sharply.
C) steadily increased.
D) been met primarily by private sources of aid.
Q2) The economic crisis of 2007 involved
A) mortgage defaults.
B) declines in mortgage-backed securities.
C) large banks facing the necessity of raising large amounts of money very quickly or failing.
D) all of the above
E) none of the above
Q3) Earnings for a man with a high school degree fell by this much during the last forty years.
A) 10%
B) 20%
C) 40%
D) They didn't fall at all.
Q4) Discuss the coping strategies families use to adapt to higher costs and lower pay.
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Chapter 5: Families and Demographic Trends: the New
Immigration and the Aging of Society
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Q1) According to the Census,from 2000 to 2010,cohabitation among the elderly
A) decreased dramatically.
B) tripled.
C) stayed the same.
D) grew by 10%.
Q2) The various groups of Latinos are very similar in terms of education and income.
A)True
B)False
Q3) The racial minority population is growing at a faster rate than the White population.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Which of the following is the health insurance program for those 65 and older?
A) Medicaid
B) ACA
C) Obamacare
D) Medicare
Q5) Women make up the majority of the elderly population.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 6: Class,Race,and Gender
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Q1) Scholars who use a gendered institutions approach to explaining gender in the family
A) contend that expressive and instrumental roles are complimentary.
B) cite research that frames family activities in terms of power and domination.
C) contend that families have a single, unified interest.
D) hold an image of family as fulfillment.
Q2) The largest group of families in the United States is the A) lower class.
B) working class.
C) middle class.
D) professional class.
Q3) A recent study shows that young refugees from Africa
A) draw their identity from society rather than family.
B) experience little racial discrimination.
C) come to include fictive kin as part of their families.
D) tend to reject family expectations.
Q4) Distinguish between public and private patriarchy,giving examples of male privilege in each.
Q5) Race,class,and gender are hierarchies of stratification in U.S.society.Discuss how each of these is a system of power and subordination.
Page 8
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Chapter 7: Meshing the Worlds of Work and Family
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Q1) All of the following are documented in the text as coping strategies of working families except
A) sequencing life events.
B) split-shift parenting.
C) an even split of housework between men and women.
D) reducing standards for domestic work.
Q2) Research shows that family relationships in the working class are negatively affected by poor working conditions and job insecurity.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Less than ten percent of U.S.families have a breadwinner husband and a homemaker wife.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Men's work patterns in the contemporary United States have been most altered by A) increasing pressure to combine work and family roles.
B) feminism.
C) macro level change that has redistributed jobs.
D) paternity leave.
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Chapter 8: The Social Construction of Intimacy
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Q1) How does the educational system in the United States function to encourage intra-class patterns of courtship and mate selection?
Q2) Between 2005 and 2006,teenage births increased slightly for
A) Latino teens.
B) White teens.
C) African American teens.
D) all of the above
E) none of the above
Q3) Interracial relationships are likely to form in which settings?
A) metropolitan areas
B) the military
C) colleges and universities
D) all of the above
Q4) Which of the following phenomena represents a major break with traditional courtship in the past?
A) hypergamy
B) formal engagement
C) dating
D) arranged marriage
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Chapter 9: Contemporary Marriages
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Q1) Devitalized marriages are centered around conflict and arguments.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Interracial marriage is
A) more common among younger than older Americans.
B) more common among less educated than more educated Americans.
C) more common in areas with miscegenation laws.
D) all of the above
Q3) According to the text,a key factor responsible for the changing role expectations for women and men in U.S.society is
A) men's willingness to share in housework.
B) the decline in the fertility rate.
C) the massive entry of women into the paid labor force.
D) feminism.
Q4) Cuber and Haroff refer to marriages that revolve around argumentation as
A) passive-aggressive.
B) vital.
C) devitalized.
D) conflict-habituated.
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Chapter 10: Parents and Children
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Q1) According to the text,which of the following conclusions about parenting is appropriate?
A) Maternal instinct (that is, the biological imperative of mother love) is universal.
B) Men's and women's patterns of involvement in child rearing are unchanged throughout U.S. history.
C) What is defined as "natural" patterns of parenting depends on time, place, and social location.
D) Practices such as "shared mothering" or "other mothering" indicate that some women value the role of mother less than others.
Q2) Dual-earner families and single-parent families frequently depend on paid daycare.What is known about how daycare affects children? Is the quality of care uniform in this society? Explain.
Q3) About 20% of the households in the United States have three or more generations within them.
A)True
B)False
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12
Chapter 11: Violence in Families
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Q1) The social stigma associated with incest contributes to A) underreporting.
B) lack of adequate support to victims.
C) difficulties in family relationships.
D) all of the above
E) none of the above
Q2) The risk of family violence is far greater in homes in which men have been laid off from their jobs.
A)True
B)False
Q3) According to the text,family violence is a logical outcome of A) the social glorification of violence.
B) the pairing of men and women.
C) human nature.
D) all of the above
Q4) What personal and social factors make it difficult for battered wives to leave abusive relationships?
Q5) How do the norms of family privacy contribute to the proliferation of family violence?
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Chapter 12: Divorce and Remarriage
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Q1) Which of the following factors allows for the prediction of a higher divorce rate in the future?
A) cultural acceptance for divorce
B) the long-term consequences of increased life expectancy
C) structural transformation of the economy
D) all of the above
Q2) A very important predictor of divorce during the early years of marriage is the age of the partners.
A)True
B)False
Q3) A plausible explanation for the relationship between family size and marital stability is
A) couples with many children have extra help with stressful domestic chores.
B) solo children often cause parents to take sides against each other in arguments.
C) unhappy couples may decide to stay together while children are in the home.
D) all of the above
Q4) The 2005 divorce rate is nearly double the divorce rate of the 1860s.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 13: Emergent Families in the Global Era
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Q1) Cohabitation and the single life may be seen as a reflection of both choice and structural constraints.
A)True
B)False
Q2) 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.
Q3) 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.
Q4) How are lesbians and gays broadening conventional understandings of the definition of "family"? Discuss the "chosen" kinship networks of gay families.
Q5) Discuss the factors that explain the increase in heterosexual cohabitation.
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Chapter 14: Family Policy for the Twenty-First Century
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Q1) Poor women have higher rates of unplanned pregnancy than the non-poor.The text suggests that one explanatory factor is
A) welfare dependence.
B) lack of moral standards.
C) the high cost of contraception.
D) the availability of abortion.
Q2) The United States has a coherent,overall family policy.
A)True
B)False
Q3) The United States differs from most industrialized nations in which way?
A) The United States has no comprehensive child care system.
B) The United States does not have paid maternity leave.
C) U.S. children are at high risk for child poverty.
D) all of the above
Q4) Poor children are at increased risk of A) infant mortality.
B) educational deficits.
C) exposure to toxic chemicals.
D) all of the above
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