changes family patterns

Question 1

divorce statistics

Answer 1

40% of marriages now end in divorce, six times more than 50 years ago

Question 2

what are reasons for increase in divorce?

Answer 2

changes in the law
declining stigma and changing attitudes 
secularisation
rising expectations of marriage
women's increased financial independence
feminist explanations

Question 3

how does changes in the law cause increase in divorce?

Answer 3

in the 19th century, divorce was almost impossible, in 20th century, legal changes made divorce easier

equalising the grounds between the sexes (legal reason for divorce between sexes) - sharp increase in divorce petitions from women

widening the grounds - e.g. irretrievable breakdown, doubled divorce rate almost overnight

making divorce cheaper e.g. legal aid introduced

however doesn’t explain why more choose to exercise this freedom, social factors more important than legal

Question 4

how does declining stigma and changing attitudes cause increase in divorce?

Answer 4

in the past, divorces was stigmatised e.g. most churches condemned it, since 1960s stigma has declined rapidly making divorce more acceptable, so couples more willing to divorce to solve their problems

divorce more common, this normalises it, further reducing the stigma

Question 5

how does secularisation cause increase in divorce?

Answer 5

secularisation is the decline in the influence of religion on society

Wilson says religious institutions and ideas are losing influence e.g. decline church attendance rates

so traditional opposition of churches to divorce carries les weight in society and people less likely to be influenced by religious teachings

some churches more tolerant of divorce as fear losing credibility with large sections of public

Question 6

how does rising expectations of marriage cause increase in divorce?

Answer 6

functionalists such as fletcher support this, marriage now based purely on romantic love, not duty or economic factors as it used to be. if love dies, no longer a reason to stay together

in the past, family was a unit of production, so marriages took place for economic reasons, lower expectations and not dissatisfied by absence of love

functionalists argue high rate of re-marriage shows divorcees haven’t rejected marriage as such

Question 7

criticisms of functionalist view of divorce?

Answer 7

feminists say too rosy a view, oppression of women within family is main cause of marital conflict and divorce, which is ignored by functionalists

Question 8

how does women’s increased financial independence cause increase in divorce?

Answer 8

more women in paid work and lone parent welfare benefits available, so women less economically dependent on their husbands and more able to afford divorce (equal pay act and sex discrimination act)

Question 9

how do feminist explanations explain increase in divorce?

Answer 9

women becoming wage-earners also creates a new source of marital conflict, at work women increasingly likely to be treated equally, whereas at home they are expected to perform a triple shift

resulting awareness of patriarchal oppression at home may result in divorce and explain why 70% of divorce petitions come from women

Question 10

changing patterns of marriage

Answer 10

fewer people marrying - marriage rates at lowest since 1920s, 2012 175,000 first marriages, half of 1970

but more re-marriages, 2012 a third of marriages were re-marriages

Question 11

reasons for fewer first marriages?

Answer 11

changing attitudes: less pressure to marry, belief that couples relationship more important than legal status

alternatives: e.g. cohabitation, staying single, less stigmatised and acceptable

women’s economic independence: better educational and career prospects, freedom not to marry, feminist view of marriage as patriarchal institution

rising divorce rates: put some off marrying as see increased likelihood of marriage ending in divorce

Question 12

reasons for other changing patterns of marriage

Answer 12

more re-marriages: more divorce means more divorcees available to re-marry, giving rise to serial monogamy

later marriages: young spend longer in education and now cohabit first

fewer church weddings: due to secularisation and some churches not marrying divorcees

Question 13

cohabitation

Answer 13

cohabitation is an unmarried couple in sexual relationship living together

1.5 million couples uk cohabit

Question 14

reasons for increase in cohabitation

Answer 14

decline in stigma attached to sex outside marriage

womens improved economic positions mean dont need financial security of marriage

secularisation, young people with no religion more likely to cohabit than those with a religion

Question 15

relationship between cohabitation and marriage

Answer 15

trial marriage - cohabitation before marriage is now the norm, many intent to marry if it goes well, 75% of cohabitating couples expect to marry

an alternative to marriage - couples who see marriage as patriarchal may opt for cohabitation as a more equal relationship

Question 16

same-sex relationships

Answer 16

greater acceptance, moves towards legal equality and policies treating all couples equally (e.g. marriage and adoption rights)

weeks argues that acceptance is leading to more stable relationships among gays that resemble heterosexual couples

gays create families based on idea of ‘friendship as kinship’ friends seen as family, creating ‘chosen families’ that offer same security as heterosexual families

Question 17

childbearing changing patterns

Answer 17

over half of all children are now born outside marriage, five times more than in 1971, main reason because increase in cohabitation as most births are jointly registered by both parents

women are having children later, more are remaining childless or having fewer children because they have more options e.g. a career

Question 18

lone-parent families changing patterns

Answer 18

account for a quarter of all families, tripled since 1970s due to increased divorce and decline of stigma of births outside marriage (no shotgun wedding)

new right blame generous welfare benefits for encouraging the increase and creating a ‘dependency culture’
(however lone-parent families likely to be in poverty because inadequate welfare benefits, failure of fathers to pay maintenance)

over 90% are female headed due to the belief that women are suited to the expressive and courts giving mothers custody

Question 19

reconstituted/step families

Answer 19

increasing due to divorce and re-marriage, account for 10% of all families with children

mostly children from the women’s previous relationship because when marriages and cohabitations break up, children more likely to remain with mother

stepfamilies are at higher risk of poverty because they have more children and may also have to support children from a previous relationship (maintenance)

Question 20

ethnic differences in family patterns

Answer 20

more black lone parents (49% of families) than white (23%) or asian: evidence of family disorganisation traced back to slavery or high levels of unemployment among black males (under slavery when couples sold separately, children stayed with other)

larger asian households: due to culture importance of the extended family and need for support when migrating (most asians households are now actually nuclear)

Question 21

what do functionalist say about extended family today?

Answer 21

functionalists argue that in modern society, the nuclear family replaces the extended family

however Wilmott found that it still exists as a dispersed extended family where relatives geographically isolated but maintain frequent contact

Question 22

what is the beanpole family

Answer 22

extended vertically through three generations, but not horizontally, doesn’t involve aunts, cousins etc

partly the result of increased life expectancy and smaller family sizes

Question 23

obligations to relatives

Answer 23

many people feel obligation to wider extended kin, finch and mason found half their sample had cared for a sick relative

reciprocity is important, people felt that help received should be returned

more is expected of daughters than sons who are rarely chosen as caregivers for an elderly woman