Exam 7: Marriage: From Social Institution to Private Relationship

In 1970, 36 percent of women age twenty through twenty-four were never-married; by 2005, that figure had risen to almost _________ percent.

The __________ family has no one structure or form.

Over the past several decades, the proportion of widowed women and men has

What is the "marriage premise?"

The family as a social institution rests on the __________ of permanence and sexual exclusivity.

Nearly two-thirds of marrieds say they are "very happy," compared to less than half of unmarrieds.

__________ marriage is a fairly new type of legal marriage in which the bride and groom agree to be bound by a stronger-than-ordinary contract that will not let them get divorced as easily as is presently allowed.

The family of __________ refers to the family a person grows up in.

In a(n) __________ marriage, the husband was expected mainly to be a hardworking provider and the wife was expected to be a good housekeeper and cook.

Expectations for permanence derive from the fact that, historically, marriage has been a practical social institution.

Why does the marriage gap exist?

According to the text's discussion of the divorced, the

Middle-class Americans often dream of attaining "the white picket fence." That is, they see marriage as an opportunity for idealized domesticity within the "haven" of their own single-family home. Which marriage does this describe?

Briefly describe the Healthy Marriage Initiative.

According to family historian Stephanie Coontz, the institution of marriage has changed from being seen as the fundamental unit of work and politics to being ____________________.

Explain the relationship between expectations of permanence and expectations of sexual exclusivity. Give an example of each category.

"Jumping the broom," is an __________ wedding tradition that symbolized the wife's commitment to her new household.

Family sociologist Andrew Cherlin has noted that time-honored family definitions and social norms "count for far less" than in the past. He calls this__________.

Female householders with no spouse present are more than twice as likely as their male counterparts to live in poverty.

In a(n) __________ marriage, which dominates Americans' goals for marriage today, partners expect companionship and intimacy as well as more practical benefits.