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Sociology > Changing Family Patterns > Flashcards

Changing Family Patterns Flashcards

1
Q

Major changes

A
  • no. of nuclear families have fallen
  • more births outside marriage
  • more couple cohabit
  • fewer first marriage, but more remarriages
  • divorce rates have increased
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2
Q

Divorce

A

most remarriages involve divorce and divorce creates both lone-parent families and one person households

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3
Q

Divorce (2)

A

couples whose marriage are at greatest risk of divorce are:
- those who marry young
- have a child before they marry
- one/both partners have been married before

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4
Q

Explanations for divorce increase

A
  • changes in law
  • declining stigma and changing attitudes
  • secularisation
  • rising expectations of marriage
  • womens increased financial independence
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5
Q

Changes in law

A

three kinds of change in law:
- Equalising the grounds (legal reasons) for divorce between sexes
- Making divorce cheaper
- Widening the grounds for divorce

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6
Q

Alternatives to divorce

A

Desertion - one partner leaves but the couple remain legally married
Legal separation - court separates the financial/legal affairs, but they remain married, not free to remarry
Empty shell marriage - couple continue to live under the same roof but remain married in name only
- as divorce has become easier to obtain, these solution have become less popular

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7
Q

Declining stigma and changing attitudes

A
  • stigma refers to the negative label, social disapproval or shame attached to a person, action or relationship
  • as stigma declines and divorce becomes more socially acceptable, couples become more willing to resort to divorce as a means of solving their marital problems
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8
Q

Secularisation

A
  • this refers to the decline in the influence of religion in society.
    Many sociologists argue that religious institutions and ideas are losing their influence and society is becoming more secular
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9
Q

Rising expectations of marriage

A

Functionalist sociologists such as Ronald Fletcher (1966) argue that the higher expectations ppl place on marriage today are a major cause of rising divorce rates.
Higher expectations make couples less willing to tolerate an unhappy marriage

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10
Q

Rising expectations of marriage (2)

A

In the past individuals had little choice in who they married, marriages were often contracted largely for economic reasons or out of duty to ones family
Feminist argument - the oppression of women within the family is the main cause of marital conflict and divorce, functionalists ignore this

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11
Q

Women’s increased financial independence

A
  • improvements in women’s economic position have made them less financially dependent on their husbands and therefore freer to end an unsatisfactory marriage
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12
Q

Feminist explanations

A
  • they argue that married women today bear a dual burden, they are required to work in addition to performing domestic labour.
    In the view of feminists this has created a new source of conflict between husbands and wives, this is leading to higher divorce rates.
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13
Q

Modernity and individualisation

A

Beck and Giddens argue that in modern society, traditional norms lose their hold over individuals
- relationships become more fragile as individuals are focused on personal fulfilment and leave if that is not retained
- some sociologists argue that modernity encourages ppl to adopt a neoliberal consumerist identity based on the idea of freedom to follow one’s own self interest, this is likely to pull spouses apart

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14
Q

The meaning of high divorce rate - New Right

A
  • see a high divorce rate as undesirable as it undermines marriage and the traditional nuclear family, which they regard as vital to social stability
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14
Q

The meaning of high divorce rate - New Right

A
  • see a high divorce rate as undesirable as it undermines marriage and the traditional nuclear family, which they regard as vital to social stability
  • in their view, hdr creates a growing underclass of welfare dependent female lone parents who are a burden on the state, this leaves boys without a male role model
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15
Q

The meaning of high divorce rate - Feminists

A
  • see hdr as desirable as it shows women are breaking free from the oppression of the patriarchal nuclear family
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16
Q

The meaning of high divorce rate - Postmodernists and individualisation thesis

A
  • see hdr as showing that individuals now have freedom to choose to end a relationship when it no longer meets their needs, this is a major cause of greater family diversity
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17
Q

The meaning of high divorce rate - Functionalists

A
  • hdr is not necessarily a threat to marriage as a social institution, simply the result of ppls higher expectations of marriage today, shows ppls continuing commitment to the idea of marriage
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18
Q

The meaning of high divorce rate - Interactionists

A
  • aim to understand what divorce means to the individual
    David Morgan argues that we cant generalise the meaning of divorce, as every individuals interpretation differs
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19
Q

The meaning of high divorce rate - Personal life

A
  • accepts divorce cant cause problems such as financial difficulties and lack of daily contact between children and non resident parents.
    Carol Smith argues that divorce has become normalised and that family life can adapt to it without disintegrating, rather than seeing divorce as a major social problem we should see it as one transition amongst other in the life course
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20
Q

First marriages

A

many of the reasons for a fall in the no. of first marriages are similar to the reasons for the increase in divorce

21
Q

Changing attitudes to marriage

A

There is less pressure to marry and more freedom for individuals to choose the type of relationship they want, the norm that everyone has to get married has greatly weakened

22
Q

Secularisation

A

churches are in favour for marriage, but as their influence declines ppl feel freer to choose not to marry

23
Q

Declining stigma attached to alternatives to marriage

A

Cohabitation, remaining single, and having children outside marriage are all now widely regarded as acceptable, so that pregnancy must not automatically lead to marriage

24
Q

Changes in the position of women

A

With better educational and career prospects, many women are now less economically dependent on men, this gives them greater freedom to marry. The feminist view that marriage is an oppressive patriarchal institution may also dissuade women from marrying.

25
Q

Fear of divorce

A

With the rising divorce rate, some may be put off marriage as they are see the increased likelihood marriage ending in divorce

26
Q

Remarriages

A

Main reason for increase in marriages is the rise in the no. of divorces, the two have grown together so that the rising no. of divorces provides a supply of ppl available to re marry.

27
Q

Age on marrying

A

The age at which couples marry is rising as young ppl are postponing marriage in order to spend longer in education or to establish a career first, another reason is more couples are now cohabiting first before marriage

28
Q

Church weddings

A

Couples nowadays are less likely to marry in church cuz:
secularisation - fewer ppl see relevance in religious ceremonies
many churches refuse to marry divorcees

29
Q

Cohabitation

A

While the no. of marriages have been falling, the no. of cohabiting increases

30
Q

Reasons for increase in cohabitation

A
  • as a result of the decline in stigma attached to sex outside of marriage “premarital sex is wrong”
  • young are more likely to cohabit
  • increased career opportunities for women may mean they have less need for financial security of marriage
  • secularisation
31
Q

A trial marriage?

A
  • many see cohabitation as a trial marriage and intend to marry if it goes well, most cohabiting couples choose to marry when they have children
  • cohabitation can be a temp phase before marriage
  • some see it as a permanent alternative to marriage
32
Q

Same sex relationships

A
  • there is more tolerance of homosexuality
  • there is evidence of increased social acceptance of same sex relationships
  • since 2014 homosexual couples have been able to marry
33
Q

Chosen families

A

Weston - describes same sex cohabitation as ‘quasi marriage’ and notes that many gay couples are now deciding to cohabit as stable partners

34
Q

One person households

A
  • fewer ppl today are living as couples
35
Q

Reasons for changes

A

The increase in separation and divorce has created more one person household, especially among men under 65, this cuz following divorce any children are more likely to live with mothers, fathers are more likely to leave the family home
- decline in the no. marrying and the trend towards staying single
- old widows

36
Q

Living apart together (LAT)

A

some are in a committed relationship or married but LAT
- this may reflect a trend towards less formalised relationships and ‘families of choice’
- LAT is no longer seen as abnormal, it probs does not amount to a rejection of more traditional relationships

37
Q

Parents and children - childbearing

A
  • many children are born out of wedlock
  • women are having children later
  • women are having fewer children
  • more women are remaining childless
38
Q

Reasons for the changes

A

increase in births outside of marriages include a decline in stigma and increase in cohabitation

39
Q

Lone parent families

A
  • a child living w/ a lone parent is twice as likely to be in poverty as a child living w/ both parents
  • the no. of lone parent families has risen due to the increase in divorce and separation and more recently due to the increase in the no. of never married women having children
40
Q

Reasons for patterns

A
  • lone parents tend to be female headed as there is a widespread belief that women are by nature suited to an expressive/nurturing role
  • courts usually give custody to mothers
41
Q

Single by choice

A
  • many lone families are female headed as the mothers are single by choice, they may not wish to marry or cohabit
42
Q

Lone parenthood, the welfare state and poverty

A

New Right thinker (Murray) sees the growth of lone parent families as resulting from an over generous welfare state providing benefits for unmarried mothers and their children
- Murray argues this created a ‘perverse incentive’, it rewards irresponsible behaviour, such as having children w/o being able to provide for them

43
Q

Murray - solution to abolish welfare benefits

A
  • this would reduce the dependency culture that encourages births out of marriage
44
Q

Step families

A
  • they formed when lone parents form new partnerships
  • more children in stepfamilies are from the woman than man as children r more likely to stay w/ mother
  • step parents are at greater risk of parents as there are more children to provide for
45
Q

Black families

A
  • higher proportion of lone parent hseholds
  • family disorganisation can be traced back to slavery or more recently to high rates of unemployment among black males
    under slavery, when couples were sold separately the children stayed w/ their mum
  • (Mirza) high value that black women place on independence
46
Q

Asian families

A
  • tend to be larger than other ethnic groups
  • some hseholds contain three gens but most are nuclear rather than extended
  • larger hseholds reflect the value placed on the extended family in asian cultures
47
Q

Extended family today

A
  • extended family may have declined but has not entirely disappeared
    Willmott argues, it continues to exist as ‘dispersed extended family’ where relatives are geographically separated but maintain frequent contact
48
Q

The ‘beanpole’ family

A
  • is a particular type of extended family which Brannen describes as ‘long and thin’:
    extended vertically - three or more gens: grandparents, parents and children
    not extended horizontally - it doesn’t involve aunts, uncles, cousins etc.
49
Q

Beanpole family

A

beanpole families may partly be the result of two demographic changes:
- increased life expectancy means more surviving grandparents/great grandparents
- smaller family sizes mean ppl have fewer siblings and thus fewer horizontal ties

50
Q

Obligations to relatives

A

despite the rise of the beanpole family, many ppl still feel a sense of obligation to help their wider extended kin
- sons are rarely chosen caregivers usually daughters

Sociology (7 decks)

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