Chapter 8: Marriage and Cohabitation

What is the average cost of weddings today?

$35,000

Place the following life events in chronological order to reflect the sequence that typically occurs for an educated young adult woman today.

complete education, begin a career, get married.

Place the women from the following racial-ethnic groups in order from the lowest to the highest marriage rates.

Blacks, latinas, whites, asians

Identify the scenarios that could cause a "marriage squeeze."

Cause: a sudden fertility rate (that is, the number of children born to each woman) drop among young women a large influx of young adult male migrants into the country Not Cause: a preference among young people to marry others of similar educational attainment a land war that wiped out a large number of civilians

Beginning in the 1970s, there has been a steady decline in marriage rates for women. This is commonly referred to as the retreat from marriage and indicates the declining number of weddings per unmarried woman.

Decline, retreat from marriage, wedding

Identify which characteristics are associated with endogamy and which are associated with exogamy.

Endogamy: useful for maintaining distinct cultures and traditions less extreme today than in ancient times Exogamy: useful for communication and exchange across groups difficult to engage in across race/ethnicity, religion, and social class

Identify the factors that tend to be associated with members of a racial-ethnic group who marry outside of their own group at higher rates.

Factors: belonging to a relatively small racial-ethnic group family acceptance of other racial-ethnic groups Not Factors: belonging to a relatively large racial-ethnic group racial prejudice against the group in question

Complex economic factors affect who is more likely to marry. Identify whether the following statements are more likely to be associated with low-income people or high-income people.

High-Income People: have no need for a financial partnership are sought after on the marriage market Low-Income People: feel they don't fit the marriage mold see marriage as a burden

Which statement describes the assumptions that underlie Becker's marketplace theory of marriage?

Marriage is voluntary and there is competition for mates.

For each comparison, identify whether the first group listed is likely to report more or less happiness in their marriages, on average, than the second group.

More Happiness: Wealthy vs poor, whites vs blacks Less happiness: People who have been married longer versus those married for less time Women vs men

Identify the reasons why people in American society are delaying or avoiding marriage.

Reasons: People want to wait until their finances are in order. A rising number of people simply don't believe in marriage. Not Reasons: People care less about others than they did in the past. Falling marriage rates since 1950 scare people away from marriage.

In 1996, the U.S. Congress ended - and voted in -. This move instituted Temporary Assistance to Needy Families, which implemented - requirements and funded -work activities.

Aid to Families with Dependent Children, The personal responsibility and work opportunity act, work, marriage promotion.

The textbook argues that increasing numbers of cohabiting couples could mean that marriage is eroding and being replaced by short-term cohabitation, or that cohabitation is replacing marriage as a form of long-term relationship. Identify the evidence that supports each argument.

Short term cohabitation replacing long term marriage: Most cohabitations in the United States last fewer than six months. Cohabiting couples report lower levels of commitment than married couples. Cohabitation replacing marriage as long term commitment: There is increasing agreement with the sentiment that partners do not need to be married in order to be committed to each other. In countries where cohabitation is more common, relationships marked by cohabitation are usually stable and long-term.

Based on the figure, what conclusion can we draw about first-time cohabitors in the United States?

The majority are still with their partners three years later, but those who are highly educated are more likely to have married.

Identify the ways marriage brings about health benefits.

Ways: through enhanced status through changes in behavior through increased cooperation Not Ways: through additional responsibility

Marriage rates have declined overall since the 1960s, but they have fallen faster for some groups over others. Match each group to the appropriate label based on whether its members have a higher or lower chance of marrying in any given year.

higher chance: the wealthy college degree holders Lower Chance: African Americans the poor

The modern era is defined by the importance of -, which makes - marriage somewhat of a paradox. However, as the textbook explains, this paradox is resolved by portraying love as the result of individual -.

individualism, lifelong, choice

According to economist Gary Becker, the process of finding a partner is like a -where you get the -spouse with the -you have.

marketplace, best, assets

Identify the reasons why married couples with children are much less likely to be poor than single mothers with children.

reasons: Marriage is more common for people with college degrees than those without college degrees. People tend to marry others with similar levels of education. Not Reasons: Single mothers spend more on raising their children. Employers are allowed to discriminate against single women in hiring decisions.

Select the bolded phrases that represent sociologists' objection to the marriage market model.

she was torn, against her instincts, she set up a date with clyde, she didn't have a lot of options

Place each racial-ethnic group in order from least to most likely to marry across racial-ethnic lines.

whites, blacks, hispanics, asians, american indians

Match each social group to the form of cohabitation with which its members are most associated.

Cohabitation before marriage: young adults cohabitation instead of marriage: same-sex individuals Cohabitation after marriage: divorced and widowed individuals

Identify the concerns that critics expressed about the federal government's funding marriage promotion.

concern: Men and women in abusive relationships might be encouraged to stay in those relationships. Poverty, not singlehood, was to blame for major social problems. Not Concerns: The government spent too much money on counseling and education. The government had not properly vetted the people and organizations running the programs.

Identify the reasons why Black men and women have the lowest rates of marriage compared with other racial-ethnic groups.

reasons: high unemployment rates among Black men a high economic standard for marriage held by Black men and women Not reasons: less interest in marrying among Black women an age mismatch between recent cohorts leading to a marriage squeeze among Blacks

Select the bolded phrases that represent ways that a wedding socializes the partners into their new roles.

counseled them on their new roles, brought their families together, registered for new household items, opened a joint bank account, standing witness to their vows

Read this blog post on the 10th Circuit Court's 2014 decision in Kitchen v. Herbert on same-sex marriage.Identify the arguments made by the court in support of marriage rights for same-sex couples.

Argument(s) of the Court There is no comparison between no-fault divorce and same-sex marriage. Same-sex and heterosexual couples alike may decide either to procreate or not to procreate. No evidence exists to suggest that children raised by same-sex couples would fare worse than those raised by heterosexual couples. Not Argument: Same-sex couples are able to earn as much income as heterosexual couples and provide for their children in the same manner.

Watch the "Story Behind the Numbers" infographic for Chapter 8.Identify the reasons the narrator gives for the declining rates of marriage in young adulthood.

Reasons: Marriage is less central to how young people define a happy life. Unemployment rates among Black men and men who have not completed college are high. Many women do not need marriage for financial stability. Not Reasons: A decline in religiosity has made marriage less valued.

Identify the reasons why a large majority of adults eventually marry.

Reasons: Media, family, and religious leaders pressure people to marry. People tend to do what others around them have done. Marriage brings both legal and symbolic rewards. Not Reasons: Most people try to conform to the expectation that sex belongs within marriage.

Place the following events in the gay rights movement in chronological order.

Stonewall riot, signing of "don't ask, don't tell" policy, initiation of Defense of Marriage Act, Supreme Court decision in Obergefell v. Hodges case

Identify the statements that are supported by the data in the figure.

Supported Statement: Marriage rates among Black men have been dropping steeply since at least 1950. Women of all racial-ethnic groups marry at a higher rate than men. Unsupported Statements: White men and women marry at a slightly lower rate than all men and women. Marriage rates among Black women have recovered slightly since the 1990s.

According to the textbook, marriage is both a symbolic and a legal status. Identify whether each example is related to the symbolic or legal status of marriage.

Symbolic: Feeling esteemed and accepted in one's neighborhood Opening a joint bank account and merging finances Legal: obtaining employer- provided health care through one's partner.

Identify the true statements about religious intermarriage in the United States.

True Statement(s): Intermarriage rates for conservative Protestant groups have not changed much over time. Ethnic assimilation has resulted in increased rates of religious intermarriage for some groups. False Statements: Fewer than 50 percent of Christians are married to other Christians. The rate of religious intermarriage has declined over time.

Based on the "Story Behind the Numbers" infographic for Chapter 8 and the accompanying figure in the textbook, identify the true statements.

True: A higher percentage of women than men ever get married. The gap between marital status in 1970 and in 2015 narrows with age. False: In 2015, the age range at which most men are married is their late 20s. By their early 30s, modern men and women experience almost the same rates of marriage.

Which of the following factors explain why Americans spend far fewer of their adult years in marriage now compared with the 1950s?

factors: delays in when men and women first marry increased incidence of divorce Not factors: increased incidence of widowhood among some groups lower fertility rates

Educational endogamy means that college-educated men tend to marry women who have a - degree. Marriage partners today are also often - in their career expectations. Together, these trends contribute to increased similarity within couples and increased - among couples.

college, similar, inequality

Identify each example of a selection effect.

emaples: People who marry may earn higher wages because higher earners are more attractive mates. Cohabitors may have a more equal division of labor in the home than married couples because those who value equity may be more likely to cohabit. not examples: People living in rural areas may be more likely to marry because of the heavy cultural norms encouraging marriage in their communities. Marriage may make men happier than women because men receive more benefits than women from being married.