changes in family patterns Flashcards
DIVORCE patterns
- since the 1960s there has been a big increase in number of divorces in the UK
- 40% of marriages end in divorce
- 65% of divorce applications come from women
- the couples who are more likely to apply for divorce are… couples who marry young, have a child before they marry and couples who have previously been married
changes in law
e. divorce was difficult to obtain especially for women
e. gradual changes in the law have made divorce easier, there has been 3 changes (equalising grounds of divorce, making divorce cheaper and widening ground of divorce)
l. widening ground of divorce can be seen in DRA 1969
e. however, just because the law makes something easier to do, does not explain in itself why more people are opting for this
declining stigma and changing attitudes
e. stigma - negative label attached to a person, action or relationship
e. has now become normalised, particularly in media
l. as stigma declines and divorce becomes more acceptable, couples are more willing to resort to divorce rather than solving marital issues
e. despite these changing attitudes family patterns still tend to be fairly traditional with the nuclear family remaining dominant family type
secularisation
e. refers to decline in religious influence
e. in past, many churches tended to condemn divorce and often refused to conduct marriages of divorcees
l. more recently churches have began to soften there views on divorce, perhaps because they fear losing credibility with large sections of public
e. number of marriages still take place in religious settings or context, highlighting that religion still has an influence over people.
rising expectations of marriage
e. functionalists such as FLETCHER argue people now have higher expectations of marriage
e. these expectations are made higher by the media where people can put an edited snapshot of there relationships
l. these expectations are hard to meet, making divorce more likely as couples are unwilling to tolerate an unhappy marriage
e. However, many people remarry after divorce which shows marriage is still valued and seen as important
womens financial independence
e. improvements in women’s economic position has made them less financially dependant on a husband
e. % of women of working age in employment in UK reached 78% in 2017
l. women are therefore free to leave an unhappy marriage and support themselves
e. However, just because women can financially support themselves does not explain in itself why they might divorce
feminist explanations
e. feminists argue that women today are increasingly taking on a dual burden (paid work and domestic labour)
e. creating a source of conflict between spouses
l. HOCHSCHILD argues women now feel undervalued in the family
e. other sociologists argue we have seen the emergence of the ‘new man’ in the family
individualisation
e. people are under less pressure to confirm to traditional collective goals and now have freedom to pursue individual goals
e. BECK AND GIDDENS argue that in modern society the duty to remain with one partner for life has lost hold over individuals
l. relationships as a result have become more fragile and individuals are now unwilling to remain with a partner if they no longer feel personal fulfilment
e. the fact 60% of marriages do not end in divorce shows that for many people marriage an monogamy with one partner for life remains important
MEANING OF HIGH DIVORCE RATES
sociologists views of divorce differ about the effect the divorce rates have on society.
The New Right
see high divorce rates as undesirable because it undermines marriage, which they see as vital to stability in society.
In there view, high divorce rates create a growing underclass of dependant lone- parents who are a burden on society (MURRAY)
Feminists
see high divorce rates as desirable because it shows women are breaking free from a patriarchal nucleus family and forming there own lone-parent families where they are head of household (empowering)
Postmodernists
see high divorce rates as desirable as it demonstrates individuals now have the freedom to chose to end a relationship if it no longer meets there needs (PURE RELATIONSHIPS:GIDDENS)
Functionalists
claim that high divorce rates don’t necessarily present a threat to marriage but instead show that people have higher expectations of marriage. High rates of remarriage show that people are still committed to it.
Interactionists
aim to understand what divorce mans to the individual. we cannot generalise because divorce means something different to everyone.
for example, PLP argue that divorce is seen by some as the end of something and as a transition from one stage of life to another, some negative and some positive.
