5⃣ Changing Patterns And Family Diversity 1) Divorce Flashcards
What are the 5 reasons of the increase in divorce
⚫️legal changes
⚫️less stigma
⚫️secularisation
⚫️higher expectations of marriage
⚫️changes in women positions
How many percentage of marriages now end in divorce
⚫️40%
➡️6 X more than 50 years ago
Hows is legal changes a reason for an increase in divorce
⚫️19th century
➡️divorce almost impossibly
⚫️in 20th century
➡️legal changes made divorce easier
➡️cheaper divorce
➡️e.g 1949 legal aid introduced
Give an evaluation of legal changes
⚫️although law gives people more freedom to divorce
➡doesn’t explain why more people exercise this freedom
➡️social factors may be more important
➡️than legal ones
How is less stigma a reason for an increase in divorce
⚫️stigma is a negative label
➡️in the past, divorce was stigmatised
➡️most churches condemned it
⚫️since 1960s, this stigma was declined rapidly
➡️made divorce more acceptable
➡️so couples more willing to divorce, to solve their problems
⚫️so divorce became more common
➡️this normalises it
➡️reducing more of this stigma
How is secularisation a reason for an increase in divorce
⚫️secularisation is the decline
➡️in influence of religion on society
⚫️wilson
➡️religious institutions and ideas are loosing influences
➡️e.g. Church attendance, weddings etc
➡️have been declining steadily
⚫️this means churches opposition to divorce
➡️carries less weight
➡️also some churches
➡️now more tolerant of divorce
How is higher expectations of marriage a reason for an increase in divorce
⚫️functionalist such as fletcher
➡️higher expectation of marriage
➡️leading to higher divorce rate
➡️this links to ideology of romantic love
➡️marriage is now based on love
➡️not a duty, or economic factors anymore
➡️so if love dies, no longer to stay together
➡in the past
➡️individual had little choice about marriage
➡️family was the unit of production
➡️so marriage took place for economic reasons
➡️so people had lower expectations
➡️so divorce was less common
⚫️functionalists are optimistic
➡️high rate of re-marriage
➡️show divorcees haven’t rejected marriage as such
Give an evaluation of higher expectation of marriage
⚫️feminist argue
➡️functionalists fail to explain
➡️why its mainly women who seek divorce
➡️the dissatisfaction with patriarchal oppression
Explain how changes in women contributed to an increase in divorce
⚫️more women now in paid work
⚫️lone parent welfare benefits are now available
➡️makes women less economically dependant on their husband
➡️able to afford divorce
⚫️women becoming wage earners
➡️creates new source of marital conflict
➡️at work women expected to be treated equally
➡️at home expected to perform a triple shift
➡️the awareness of patriarchal oppression at home
➡️may result to divorce
➡️explaining why 70% divorce comes from women
