Which statement describes a limitation of the family life-cycle model?

• A. It ignores economic factors
• B. It ends at the mid-life stage
• C. It focuses on a nuclear-family model
• D. It overemphasizes ethnic diversity

Answer: (C)

The family life-cycle model describes how a family is expected to move through a series of stages with tasks to handle at each point. A key limitation is that this framework centers on a nuclear, two-parent family as the norm and presents development as a linear, step-by-step progression. Because of that, it often fails to reflect the wide variety of family forms today—single-parent households, blended or stepfamilies, extended or multi-generational households, and families shaped by different cultural and economic contexts. That mismatch is the reason focusing on a nuclear-family model best captures the limitation. The other statements don’t fit as well: the model isn’t confined to mid-life, and it isn’t defined by ignoring economic factors or by overemphasizing ethnic diversity.