Chapter 8: Divorce Variation and Fluidity

Test Bank

Multiple Choice

1. Which two components are part of the DVFM?

A. variability and fluidity

B. resilience and growth

C. alienation and separation

D. deficits and additions

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Theoretical Perspective

Difficulty Level: Easy

2. In the DVFM model, fluidity means ______.

A. the vast difference in experience and adjustment that parents and children have in the divorce process

B. the change in economic conditions as people divorce

C. the change in living conditions (neighborhoods, schools) that families experience as the result of divorce

D. the change in individual adjustment over time

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Theoretical Perspective

Difficulty Level: Medium

3. The DVFM model is a ______.

A. process model that takes a contextual approach to demonstrate the highly dynamic nature of the divorce process

B. linear model that looks at pre- and postdivorce functioning

C. process model that demonstrates the stability of factors associated with divorce

D. model that seeks to explain the impact of divorce on parents

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Theoretical Perspective

Difficulty Level: Medium

4. Which factors below are important to understanding the relationship between resilience and divorce?

A. age and race

B. level of family support and alternative support systems

C. risk and protective factors

D. predisruptive dynamic and postdisruption dynamic

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Theoretical Perspective

Difficulty Level: Medium

5. The difference between a risk factor and a risk mechanism is that ______.

A. a risk factor is a single event, while a risk mechanism is a series of events

B. a risk factor is variable and constantly changing, while a risk mechanism is stable over a long period of time

C. a risk factor cancels out a protective factor, while a risk mechanism is a process of adaptation

D. a risk factor increases the likelihood of undesirable outcomes, while risk mechanisms are the processes that lead to adjustment difficulties

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Theoretical Perspective

Difficulty Level: Medium

6. ______ and ______ are two of several demographic risk factors associated with divorce.

A. Being white; being middle-aged when you marry

B. Being young at the time of marriage; having divorced parents

C. Being Asian; being educated

D. Being African American; living in rural areas

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Factors That Predict and Cause Divorce

Difficulty Level: Medium

7. There is often a difference between what has really happened to cause a divorce and what is reported because ______.

A. people don’t want to share personal information about a private matter

B. women and men have such divergent reasoning that the reality of the divorce is distorted

C. people are often in denial about their divorce

D. peoples’ subjective views are different than researchers’ empirical investigations identify

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Factors That Predict and Cause Divorce

Difficulty Level: Medium

8. Amy’s parents divorced over the summer, and Amy is struggling academically and socially in school. Factors that may impact her adjustment might include ______.

A. how her family interacts postdivorce

B. whether she is LGBTQ

C. where her family lives

D. whether her friends have experienced divorce

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Divorce and Its Aftermath

Difficulty Level: Hard

9. The economic costs of divorce are such that ______.

A. due to economic inequality, it is hard to say who fares better, women or men

B. women and children suffer financially, while men enjoy a better financial situation

C. women and men fare equally because of the child support paid to the custodial parent

D. men fare worse because typically they have to pay child support

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Economic Consequences

Difficulty Level: Easy

10. In a clinical study of patients at a mental health clinic, it was shown that divorce was highly associated with suicide attempts and concluded that divorce may predict suicide attempts. Which of the statements below identifies a major flaw with this study?

A. It is not a longitudinal design.

B. The subjects are not appropriate for a study on divorce.

C. The study is based on a clinical sample, so it is not generalizable.

D. The study’s claims are too limited in scope.

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Psychological Adjustment

Difficulty Level: Medium

11. What enhances resilience following divorce?

A. a lower ratio of risk factors to risk processes

B. a higher ratio of protective factors to risk factors

C. mediating stressor pileup

D. self-reliance and optimism

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Theoretical Perspective

Difficulty Level: Medium

12. In terms of race and gender, ______.

A. White women receive more social support postdivorce

B. White women receive the most financial support postdivorce

C. African American women receive more social support postdivorce

D. White men receive more emotional support postdivorce

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Psychological Adjustment

Difficulty Level: Medium

13. Most children and adolescents experience adjustment difficulties (pre and postdivorce) for ______.

A. 2–4 years

B. 3–5 years

C. 3–6 months

D. 1–2 years

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Children’s Adjustment

Difficulty Level: Easy

14. There appears to be substantial variability in children’s outcomes following divorce. Most variations in children’s outcomes are attributed to ______.

A. protective factors pre and postdivorce

B. the length of time the parents were married

C. who the child lives with postdivorce

D. the child’s age

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Children’s Adjustment

Difficulty Level: Medium

15. A consistent problem confronting children following divorce is ______.

A. their parents’ continued fighting

B. prolonged economic hardship

C. difficulty establishing long-term relationships

D. establishing a new group of friends

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Children’s Adjustment

Difficulty Level: Easy

16. Another factor that impacts a child's adjustment is ______.

A. the cumulative effects of multiple transitions

B. children’s need to know all the information

C. parents protecting children from information

D. the family’s culture

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Multiple Family Transitions and Children’s and Parents’ Adjustment

Difficulty Level: Easy

17. Multiple divorces tend to be ______.

A. quite rare

B. quite common

C. associated with suicide attempts

D. associated with greater negative impact on parents than children

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Consequences for Adults

Difficulty Level: Easy

18. Which of the following statements about parenting education programs is most accurate?

A. Parenting education programs are typically evaluated as highly effective.

B. Parenting education programs are typically evaluated as highly ineffective.

C. Parenting education programs are not consistently evaluated.

D. Parenting education programs are typically evaluated as moderately effective.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Parenting Education for Divorcing Parents

Difficulty Level: Medium

19. Critics of divorce mediation have suggested that ______.

A. although mediation has its drawbacks, it is always better than litigation

B. mediation is costly and has been shown to be ineffective

C. mediation focuses on the needs of the children rather than the family

D. gender-based power imbalances prejudice the process

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Divorce Mediation

Difficulty Level: Medium

20. DVFM recognizes that family transitions during and following divorce play a critical role in shaping life trajectories, developmental change, and postdivorce adjustment. What perspective does this align with?

A. life course perspective

B. change-adjustment perspective

C. ecological systems perspective

D. transitions perspective

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Theoretical Perspectives

Difficulty Level: Medium

21. Gerstel (1990) found that compared to childless women, divorced mothers experienced ______ after a divorce.

A. better financial standing

B. harsher disapproval

C. less judgment

D. longer lasting depression

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Divorce and Its Aftermath

Difficulty Level: Medium

22. According to research, which of the following reasons helps explain why women are typically financially worse off following a divorce?

A. Fathers are unable to financially support two households.

B. Women use credit cards more following divorce.

C. Fathers do not comply with child support awards.

D. Women quit paid work to qualify for more child support.

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Economic Consequences

Difficulty Level: Medium

23. The Fragile Families Study found that the ______ was negatively associated with children’s socioemotional, cognitive, and behavioral outcomes.

A. absence of child support

B. frequency of fathers’ partnership transitions

C. moving away from the noncustodial parent

D. frequency of mothers’ partnership transitions

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Consequences for Children

Difficulty Level: Medium

24. What is the main research focus of the divorce variation and fluidity model?

A. understanding divorce as a normal transition

B. understanding why women are more negatively impacted by divorce

C. understanding variation in response to the challenges posed by divorce

D. understanding racial and ethnic variation in divorce patterns

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Theoretical Perspective

Difficulty Level: Easy

25. Since the late 1980s, the divorce rate has ______.

A. risen

B. remained comparable

C. fallen

D. not been calculated

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: History and Context

Difficulty Level: Easy

True/False

1. Family members experience and adjust to divorce in relatively similar ways.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Theoretical Perspective

Difficulty Level: Medium

2. Most children do not develop clinically significant social, emotional, and academic problems as the result of a divorce.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Theoretical Perspective

Difficulty Level: Easy

3. Divorce rates have steadily increased from the 1950s to the present time.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: History and Context

Difficulty Level: Easy

4. There is no difference between how women and men fare financially following a divorce.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Economic Consequences

Difficulty Level: Easy

5. Women and men involved in relationships with new partners adjust better to the divorce.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Psychological Adjustment

Difficulty Level: Easy

6. Divorce appears to be more stressful for women, but research indicates that it may be a short-term crisis as many women feel that their postdivorce situation is preferable to their married life.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Psychological Adjustment

Difficulty Level: Medium

7. Corina is 3 years old, and her parents divorced a year ago. She is still struggling at times, being clingy with her parents and extra whiny at bedtimes. This is abnormal for postdivorce adjustment.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Children’s Adjustment

Difficulty Level: Hard

8. Research has indicated that more than one out of every four children have experienced two or more family structural transitions before they are in fourth grade.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Consequences for Children

Difficulty Level: Medium

9. Men are more likely to initiate divorce.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: History and Context

Difficulty Level: Easy

10. The divorce rate in 2017 was higher than the divorce rate in 1980.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: History and Context

Difficulty Level: Easy

Essay

1. Discuss the process and possible results of mediation.

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Introduction

Difficulty Level: Medium

2. Provide some possible reasons that some family members might adjust to divorce better than others.

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Theoretical Perspective

Difficulty Level: Medium

3. Do you think that there is stigma associated with divorce? Why or why not?

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Conclusions

Difficulty Level: Medium

4. Outline the divorce variation and fluidity model.

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Theoretical Perspectives

Difficulty Level: Medium

5. Why did divorce rates rise substantially until the early 1980s?

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: History and Context

Difficulty Level: Medium