Chapter 10 Review Questions

  1. What is the myth of the ideal family? How can this myth be a problem in itself?
  2. All systems, including families, can be characterized in three ways. What are they?
  3. What different kinds of structures characterize family systems?
  4. What are the two kinds of power-authority structures discussed in the text? In a traditional positional structure family, who has power and authority? In a person-oriented structure, how is power distributed?
  5. What are three ways that families make decisions? What are examples of each?
  6. What is a communication network? What is the difference between a centralized and a decentralized network? Of the four family communication networks illustrated in the text, which is the most decentralized?
  7. What is the difference between an open and a closed family? What problems and conflicts may arise in a random family?
  8. What is the difference between enmeshed and disengaged family systems?
  9. What did Braithwaite and Baxter (2006) learn about step-families? 
  10. What does the film, The Kids Are All Right, illustrate about families? 
  11. What are the five internal functions of the family?
  12. What are the two external functions of the family?
  13. What does Langdon believe is wrong with typical American suburbs and what can be done about it?
  14. How does communication change when families have their first child?
  15. What is the launching period and what happens during it?
  16. What is parallel parenting?
  17. What are the four basic crisis stages discussed in the text?
  18. What are four ways families can cope with change?
  19. How has family structure changed over time?
  20. What is a regulative rule? What is a constitutive rule?
  21. What are family themes and family identity?
  22. Jane Howard has described ten characteristics of a good family. What are they?
  23. Fitzpatrick has classified four types of husband–wife couples. What are they and how do they differ?
  24. When do men value talking about relationships? When do women? How are older couples different from younger couples?
  25. What are support and control messages, and what are their effects?
  26. What can families do to mediate the negative effects of television viewing and help children distinguish reality from fiction?
  27. How do sibling relationships change over time?
  28. What are some ways to communicate comfort to others?
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