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Question 1

The 'nuclear family' means:

a) a group of people sharing living accommodation and meals

b) a network of relatives extended within or between generations

c) the new family created when an adult leaves home and gets married

d) a two generation unit of parents and their children

Question 2

Parsons argued that the two main functions of the modern family were:

a) secondary socialization and strict discipline

b) emotional support and sexual gratification

c) primary socialization and personality stabilization

d) oppressing women and reproducing the labour force

Question 3

Which of these trends did the New Right not suggest as evidence of declining family values?

a) the tendency for cohabitation before marriage

b) the rising divorce rate

c) the absence of fathers in many households

d) the increasing number of single parent families

Question 4

Stone's research suggests that prior to industrialization, the nuclear family:

a) did not exist in any form

b) had begun to disappear, as extended networks of kin became more important

c) had begun to emerge through the separation of work and home life

d) was simply another institution of patriarchal control

Question 5

The social construction of childhood can be traced back to:

a) the introduction of compulsory education

b) increasingly emotional ties between parents and children

c) new consumer goods for children, such as clothes, toys and books

d) all of the above

Question 6

The 'third age' of the life course is said to involve:

a) active non-work and independence after retirement

b) full time employment, family-building and adult responsibility

c) illness, isolation and increasing dependence on others

d) the transition from education to work, and distinctive youth cultures

Question 7

Marriage appears to be in decline because:

a) the proportion of people living alone has fallen to 29%

b) many people are cohabiting in long term relationships

c) the upward curve of remarriages compensates for the drop in first marriages

d) all of the above

Question 8

The shift from custodial to joint parenthood after divorce means that:

a) fathers are more likely to be absent from their children's lives

b) one parent has total responsibility for the child's welfare and socialization

c) both parents are expected to co-operate in the continued care of their children

d) parents must provide for all of their children in equal measure

Question 9

It is difficult to ascertain the true extent of domestic violence because:

a) there is a large 'dark figure' of unreported incidents

b) the changing definitions of legal categories have made it harder to convict offenders

c) researchers are not allowed access to official statistics

d) there is no valid or reliable way of researching such a sensitive topic

Question 10

Sullivan's (2000) study suggested that the proportion of housework men did was greatest when:

a) they had rediscovered themselves as 'new men'

b) their wives were at home and nagged them all the time

c) exciting gadgets like the hoover and electric iron were invented

d) they were unemployed or both partners worked full time

Oxford University Press, Online Resource Centre, Chapter 12.

Chapter 12

Instructions