4. Demography And Social Change Flashcards
How does marriage in relation to social change affect the family
- Marriages have declined, according to the new right, due to the government policy not supporting marriages as the welfare system discourages them.
- Marriages have declined due to religious beliefs being replaced by personal beliefs, this is known as secularisation. Many are now getting married due to happiness and not due to the organised religions pressure to marry because of children and sex. This causes a decline in marriage as many might wait or choose to not marry.
- In 1971 the average age was 24 for men and 22 for women but by 2000 it had risen to 30 for men and 28 for women
- The number of marriages has dropped by a third between 1962 and 2008. However there was a rise in marriage between 2002-2008.
Why are fewer women getting married
- According to McRae in 1999 women reject marriage as it restricts personal freedom and independence and therefore, they prefer cohabitation as they dont feel tied down.
- many fear divorce as they have seen others go through it.
- Religion has decreased as secularisation has taken place.
- Many can’t financially support a wedding and therefore, are waiting till later in life in order to be able to support it.
What are the divorce legislation and statistics on divorce
- The recent fall in divorce rates can be due to the fall of marriage rates and the increase of cohabitation.
- in 1949 Legal aid allowed for the availability of divorce courts in cities and allowed funding for more divorces.
- The 1971 divorce reform act allowed it to be easier to obtain a divorce.
- In 1911 there were 859 files for divorce with only a third being granted compared to 1987 where 183000 filed for divorce with 165000 being granted.
How does divorce in relation to social change affect the family
- The social change on women no longer being seen as needing marriage has contributed to divorce as they expect more from life than marriage and domestic work
- Fletcher in 1996 claimed that people expect more from marriage in the past.
- Social attitudes towards divorce has allowed for divorce to become more normalised, this be linked to secularisation.
- Wilson 1996 argues that as religion has declined the belief that people should stay married has declined.
- New right argue the ability to obtain a divorce is too easy and allows for the casual attitudes towards marriage.
Why have divorce patterns changed (1)
- There have been changes in law due to the availability of divorce courts and funding which have linked to the rise in divorces.
- People’s expectations have changed. Fletcher claimed that people expect more from marriages than previous generations with couples no longer willing to be in an empty-shell marriage.
Goode argues that marriage takes place due to emotional reasons and no longer practical reasons. Giddens in 1992 seen a shift towards ‘confluent love’ rather than feelings of duty.
Divorced men are more likely to remarry more than divorced women and its argued by Gittins in 1993 that this is because women are disillusioned by marriage
Why have divorce patterns changed (2)
- Women’s change in roles allowed for greater divorce as women account for three quarters of applications of divorces.
Fletcher argues as women are financially independent they dont need a man to succeed. Womens improved societal positions mean women dont gain as much from the marriage and therefore, only marry due to emotions
Hart in 1976 states that working women have stress which causes conflict between womens roles in the house and workplace resulting in divorce as theyre unhappy with the dual burden or triple shift
Kurz argues that if women couldnt be economically independent there were restrictions on divorce.
Why have divorce patterns changed (3)
- There have been changes in the attitude and values of society. As divorce use to be considered deplorable and the people of divorce were often considered rejects many wouldnt divorce as it wasnt socially acceptable
As societal views have changed its made it socially acceptable for divorce which has led to it being legally applicable more easily due to reforms.
Wilson in 1966 seen a link between a decrease of religion and an increase of divorces leading to the idea that the christian concept of staying with someone for life is disappearing.
Allan and Crow in 2001 argue that marriage is more of a relationship than an agreement as couples look for love and commitment rather than a means of survival especially for women.
The effects of children has changed and the idea of staying together ‘for the sake of the children’ has changed
Why have divorce patterns changed (4)
- Demographic changes have contributed to the change in divorce patterns as life expectancy has grown and therefore, marriage was shorter than it would be know
Historian, Anderson in 1983 argues that people who marry younger and live longer contribute to the divorce rate. Population trends in 1976 showed a marriage where the bride was under 21 were more likely to end in divorce compared to a bride who’s older than 21
However, Bristol in 1977 suggested those who divorced young suffered other factors such as poor housing, manual jobs or sharing a home
How does cohabitation in relation to social change affect the family (1)
While social attitudes have changed due to sex outside marriage, cohabitation has changed the most as fewer people are accepting that sex is only for marriage.
Coast in 2009 used the British panel survey to show that cohabitation is normal for couples.
As more people are experience cohabitation it has made it more widely acceptable.
In the past cohabitation was seen as a trial marriage however many young people expect cohabitation before marriage even if marriage or long-term partnership isnt the end goal.
Morgan in 2012 state that many people choose cohabitation as they are scared of divorce.
How does cohabitation in relation to social change affect the family (2)
Cohabitation could be done to economics. As there are pressures on women to have dream weddings many will wait till they are financially secure by getting established careers and home before formalising marriage.
A survey of 450 people in 2013 found that 16% of people dont want to marry until they’ve bought a house and 40% said they couldn’t afford a wedding with the other 25% saying that marriage isn’t necessary
How does singlehood in relation to social change affect the family (1)
Those who live alone are usually older particularly women over 75 who have been widowed as women live longer than men.
However with the increase of divorce many people are choosing singlehood with many of these people being males who have left home. The census showed that men who lived alone in 1981 were still alone later in life.
One reason is due to what Durkheim called the Cult of the Individual this is where societies focus is on individual rights and responsibilities rather than a social groups,
He claimed many people put themselves before the community and today people are required to stay true to themselves.
Klinenburg in 2012 pointed out living alone is seen as the mark of success among younger people. As people use to be pressured to stay together, people are not told to leave unhappy relationships to better themselves
How does life expectancy in relation to social change affect the family
Life expectancy refers to how long people tend to live on average.
Life expectancy has increased with life expectancy being 55 years in 1901 compared to 84 in 2001. This can be due to improved living standards, better health care and effective sanitation.
As work industries have become less dangerous there has been less work related deaths and as healthcare technology has improved theres been less deaths due to illnesses that wouldve previously been fatal
Due to the legislation on abortion in recent times, deaths associated with abortions has decreased.
With cleaner and safer homes deaths related to hygiene issues have also decreased
How does life expectancy affect the society and family
The older population requires more care and therefore families are left to take care of them as they are apart of the dependency ratio
How does fertility in relation to social change affect the family
fertility rate refers to the average number of births for every 1000 women.
Fewer women are giving birth causing the fertility rate to drop this is due to the wider availability of contraception made possible in the 1960s causing women to be able to have a choice and control how many children they have. This allowed greater independence to control their lives as they can work free from the need to provide for childcare
This ability to control their reproductive system led to a change of women attitudes as the feminist movement now pushed for more rights such as abortion, equal pay and the chance of higher education
Why has fertility rates dropped
in 1900 the fertility rate was 115 compared to 2000 when it dropped to 54.5.
This can be due to increasing education opportunities as the number of female graduates nearly tripled between 1970 and 2000 as it allowed for women to contribute to the workforce allowing them to have other abitations rather than to have children
