Children and Family (Ch. 9)

Which of the following represents a typical response when people are asked why they had children?

"I was young, but I was ready."

Parents of a typical family with two children can expect to spend how much to raise each child up to age 17?

$160,000 -$370,000

Women who did not finish high school have an average of 2.6 children, compared with how many among those with bachelor's degrees?

1.8

More than a third of baby-boom mothers had four children each. By 2006, only about what percentage of women turning 45 had that number of children?

12

In 2008, what percentage of pregnancies resulted in abortion?

18

When did the term parenting become popular?

1970s

On average, American families have how many children?

2

Total fertility rates indicate that Latina women on average have almost how many children?

2.5

International adoption reached its peak in which year?

2004

What percentage of preschoolers with mothers who have less than a high school education are identified as obese?

25

What percentage of children live with a cohabiting parent at some point in their lives?

40

In 2011, births to unmarried women reached a record high of _____________ percent.

41

What percentage of all pregnancies are identified as "unintended"?

50 percent

The number of women reaching age 45 without having any children has increased by what percentage since the 1980s?

50.

In the 1980s, more than 80 percent of parents agreed that spanking was sometimes necessary. In 2012, what percentage agreed?

71

Although fewer parents are married now than in the past, why are many children involved with more than two parents?

A growing number of families include stepparents and siblings from parents' previous relationships.

How have adoption patterns in the United States shifted over the past half-century?

Adoption has become less common, but it is more open and acceptable.

In the early part of the twentieth century, it was incredibly dangerous to be a child, with almost 200 children killed in New York City streets in 1911. In 2009, only 14 children were killed in motor vehicle accidents in New York City, despite the growing population. What does this mean sociologically?

American children lost their economic value and achieved a new emotional value.

There is reason to suspect that parents' insecurity has increased in the last few decades for which of the following reasons?

Because parents have fewer children, their investment in each one has grown.

What is one reason women with lower education levels tend to have more children?

Childrearing threatens higher incomes and career status.

The largest number of international adoptions came from which countries?

China, Russia, South Korea, and Guatemala

When Arturo found out he was adopted, his peers teased him, saying that his real parents didn't care about him. Arturo has met his birth parents, and following research trends, how is Arturo likely to respond?

He will know that his birth parents gave him up for adoption for his own good.

Jackson, age 10, just received his first cellular phone. What does this mean in relation to his parents?

His parents will be more likely to know what he is doing.

Single parenthood is more common among which group?

Indian Americans

Why has infertility been a source of stigma for women?

It has been used to justify men's infidelity.

Why might Jane, a new mother, not put her infant son on his back to sleep, despite abundant evidence that infants who do not sleep on their backs are at risk for Sudden Infant Death Syndrome?

Jane lacks the education.

What is one typical example that demonstrates how parents plan their births around their economic circumstances?

Joyce, a 25-year-old, waited to have children until after the economic recession.

Why are first-generation Latino immigrants more likely to have children than families who immigrated in earlier generations?

Latin American culture places high value on having children.

In the past few years, American opinion of abortions has moved in which general direction?

More people consider themselves "pro-life."

From the 1960s to the 1990s-a period when women's employment rates grew rapidly-the time mothers spent with their children actually did increase. How was that possible?

Mothers engaged in less of other things, like sleeping and leisure.

Barbara is a 35-year-old executive at a banking firm. What is the opportunity cost of her decision to have children?

She risks halting or losing her stature within the company or industry.

Henry and Lauren, who are infertile, have decided to call themselves "child-free" rather than "childless," indicating what?

Some people have embraced the concept as a lifestyle label.

The relatively high fertility rate among Latinos partly explains the growth of their population in the country as a whole. What is one of the reasons for this pattern?

The Latino population includes many young, healthy adults.

What is one reason contemporary mothers might be unlikely to give their children up for adoption?

The stigma associated with unmarried motherhood has decreased.

Within the broader growing trend of single parenthood, what is one way people become single parents?

Young adults, either alone or with a partner, are not ready to marry.

In her book The Cultural Contradictions of Motherhood, sociologist Sharon Hays describes an ideology she calls intensive motherhood, which is

a cultural pressure on women to devote more time, energy, and money to raising their kids.

Falling rates of abortion may be due in part to which trend?

attacks on abortion providers

In part because of the legal, technological, or financial obstacles they must overcome to have children, same-sex couples have been shown to

be unusually committed to parenting.

The greatest expenses in raising children tend to come from

child care and education

When Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi were considering having a child, references to them "starting a family" indicated that

childless couples somehow add up to less than a family.

The decline in international adoptions was part of a worldwide trend in which the act was

closely scrutinized for ethical and legal violations.

Family transitions always have what component?

economic

The main reason adoption became less common after the 1960s is that

fewer babies were being relinquished by their birth parents.

Children are most likely to be adopted through which method?

foster care system

Raising children is often expected to

give emotional and symbolic rewards

If a country has a fertility rate of more than 2.1 or so, the population will usually

grow.

In 2010 the number of childless adults aged 25 to 40 reached 48 percent, indicating what?

growing numbers of childless adults

Emily, a 25-year-old white woman, just found out she is infertile. What is one factor that may have led to her infertility?

her history of sexually transmitted infections

A number of historical events undermined the dominance of the male provider ideal, such as the

increase in women's employment.

Paul spends nearly every Saturday with his two children. This is very different from his parents, who rarely spent time with Paul and his four siblings. This shift reflects which goal of modern parents?

investing more in fewer children

Until the 1960s, the male provider ideal was the dominant conception of what a father should be. The current dominant American ideal is the

involved father

The sociological definition of parents

is fluid, especially when the law does not set the rules.

The high frequency of unintended births, especially among women or couples with less education or fewer economic resources, partly results from

lack of access to good-quality medical care.

A very small fraction of children (less than 1 percent)

live in the care of same-sex couples.

Which group of women is most likely to have an abortion?

low-income women

Lucia was concerned about the well-being of her 11-year-old, who seemed increasingly anxious. What is a child well-being expert likely to prescribe for Lucia's daughter?

more play time

The price one pays for choosing the less lucrative available option is known as

opportunity cost.

While biological parents are the adults whose bodies produce a child, adoptive parents are

parents to a child they did not produce biologically.

Research shows that by the time they reach adolescence, the great majority of adopted children

say they are glad they got to know their birth parents.

When Jose was looking for a job, his father Jesus was able to get him an interview at a friend's company. Which category of skill or resource was Jesus providing to Jose?

social networks

Parents try to provide which three broad categories of skills or resources to their children?

socialization, social bonds, and social network

When it comes to children's success in three major dimensions-being happy and well adjusted, doing well in school, and staying out of serious trouble-which parental stance has proven beneficial?

supportiveness

Forty-one percent of all children born in the United States are born to parents who aren't married, up from 28 percent in 1990. This trend is closely tied to

the decline of marriage.

Although Jeff has a high-paying job, he decided to take a lower-paying position so that he could spend more time with his kids, reflecting

the involved father ideal

The sociological definition of fertility focuses on

the number of children born in a society or among a particular group.

Many adults influence the life of a child. The adults who have the most direct influence are

those who live with them