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CHAPTER 10
COMMUNICATION AND FAMILY DEVELOPMENTAL STRESS
TRUE/FALSE
potty training, a Bat Mitzvah, or graduation from high school.
predictable stresses as well as unpredictable crises that disrupt the family
system.
issues for families to resolve.
family translators about what is happening in school, or in doctor’s office.
increasing in size as more children are born into each generation and the
older generation lives longer.
interruptions to careers, educations, or incomes may cause more changes
than timing in family stages.
in similar ways at about the same time and in spite of economic or
environmental factors.
involved but also their extended families as well as future generations.
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around simple topics such as clothes, food, or chores.
they can still find satisfaction in the later stages of their relationship as
long as they have more adaptable personalities.
institutionalizing the relationship through marriage does not really change
the relationship dynamics very much.
years of marriage and demonstrate great stability.
children and form more affective ties with them.
more person-centered than the Family Stages Approach.
MULTIPLE CHOICE
1. Some scholars believe that a new developmental stage should be created to include:
D. Mid-life crises
2. Traditional life stage models have been criticized because
A. Too few stages are considered
3. Which is not true from research studies of couples?
A. Gay male and lesbian couples must invent or borrow some marital rules and
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avoid others.
4. Three types of time are used to explain a life course perspective. Which one is not
commonly used?
A. Individual time that refers to chronological age
5. In Carter and McGoldrick’s model of stressors, some are classified as horizontal and
others vertical. Which of the following describes vertical stressors?
D. Stressors that follow a hierarchy related to the chronological events in the life
cycle from birth to death
6. Which statement agrees with the research on the initial parenthood stage?
A. Wives become more emotional during the pregnancy
7. For parents successful passage of their children in the independent life stage
requires three of the following: Which one is not essential?
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D. Acceptance of a range of intense emotional attachment and lifestyles outside of
the immediate family
8. Which conclusion below is not supported by research?
A. Both parents’ role quality is related to psychological distresses they experience
9. All of the following are challenges found in the independent life stage except:
D. Parental separation processes
10. Which statement is not true about “end of life” issues in families?
A. Most end-of-life decisions are made in hospital intensive care units
11. Which statement is not true about families in later life?
D. Elder care is most often carried out by daughters
12. Family life cycles vary because:
D. Mature adults plan birth orders differently
13. This commonplace term refers to the last child leaving home:
A. The caboose pulls out
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14. Which statement based on research is false?
A. Women’s expectations and adjustments to parenthood were considerably less
than they hoped in pregnancy
15. Research suggests that one of the reasons why cohabitating couples marry is:
A. Cohabitation is a test to see if they would enjoy marriage
16. Gay and lesbian young adults tend to “come out” to which of their family members
first?
D. Grandparents
17. When two people get married, the most turbulent family tie in the extended family
network tends to be:
D. Mother-in-law and son-in-law
18. Which of the following is not a “phase” of parenthood according to the chapter?
A. Family with first child
19. A family therapist, Amy, uses a Life Course Approach to analyze communication in a family
struggling with an adolescent becoming sexually active at an early age. If Amy focused on
the communication between the adolescent and his father as an indicator of stress, on which
type of “time” is she focusing?
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D. Familial time
20. In the model of stressors, as proposed by your text, some stressors are classified as horizontal
and others as vertical. Which of the following describes vertical stressors?
A. Stressors, which include predictable and unpredictable issues that a family has to cope
with as members move through the life cycles
ESSAY QUESTIONS
1. Explain why life course development can vary between races, and also because of
stressful events in a family’s life. What factors contribute to these variations
between races? Discuss how some families are forced to handle stressful situations
differently.
2. Take one period of developmental stress in a family’s life and discuss three or four
factors that affect the communication in that family system. For example, you could
discuss parents with newborn twins or parents with two adolescents, etc.
3. Distinguish between a (a) developmental stages and life course approach to how
families develop and cope with stress. (b) What are the benefits and drawbacks of
each?