changing family patterns Flashcards
When did there start to be a great increase in the number of divorces?
Since the 1960s.
Why was there a peak of divorces in 1969? How many?
125,000- 1969 Dicorce Reform Act: enabled divorce to become easier for unhappy couples to access. Revolutionary piece of legaslation>enabled a “no fault” divorce to be requested>didn’t need an excuse, such as abandonment, to be divorced.
Why was there a peak in 1984?
1984 Matrimonial and Family Proceedings Act: Allowed couples to petition for divorce after only one year of marriage (previously: 3 years).
Why was there a fall of divorces in the 1990s?
Fewer people are marrying in the first place, choosing to cohabit instead.
What type couples are more likely to divorce? (3)
Young, have kids before marriage or cohabitat, one or both partners have been married before.
What are the 4 key explanations for the increase in divorce?
-Declining stigma and changing attitudes
-Secularisation
-Womens increased financial independence
-Rising expectations of marriage
What have improvements in womens economic position lead to? Give an example of these improvements.
Less financially dependent on their husbands>freer to end an unsatisfactory marriage. E.g. the availability of welfare benefits means that women no longer have to remain financially dependent.
Developments mean that women are more likely to be able to…in the event of divorce.
Support themselves.
Women now have their own separate source of income from paid work, therefore?
Women do not have to tolerate conflict or absence of love>more willing to seek divorce>not having to rely on their husband financially.
Summarise the changing role of women in 5 points.
-Better educated
-More financially educated
-Impact of feminist ideas
-Access to easier divorces
-Access to welfare benefits
How have the rising expectations of marriage changed over the years?
-1950s: people married for: financial security (women), sex (men), to make it look as if they’re not gay, pass down wealth to children.
-2023: people marry for love>might fall out of love>divorce.
What is secularisation (defined by who + when)? What do sociologists argue about this? (2)
Wilson 1966: The decline in the influence of religion in society.
-Religious institutions and ideas are losing their influence.
-Society is becoming more secular. E.g. Church attendance rates continue to decline.
What happens as a result of secularisation? (2)
-Traditional opposition of the churches to divorce carries less weight in society.
-People are less likely to be influenced by religious teachings when making decisions about personal matters e.g. whether to file for divorce.
Why might churches have began to soften their views on divorces and divorcees?
They are losing credibility with large sections of the public with their own members.
Examples of secular activities? (4)
Living together unmarried, same-sex relationships, contraception, abortions.
What is the 1996 Family Law Act?
Sought to find a middle-ground towards the older approach to divorce (fault-based), which lead to: delays, stigma, poor outcomes. This middle-ground was through waiting periods and mediation.
What is stigma? Who had been stigmatised in the past? E.g..?
Negative label attached to a person, action or relationship. Divorce and divorcees e.g. some churches often refuse to to conduct marriage services including divorcees.
What happens as stigma declines and divorce becomes more socially acceptable?
Couples become more willing to resort to divorce as a means of solving their martial problems.
The fact that divorce is now more common begins to…? (2)
Normalise it and reduced the stigma attatched to it.
How is divorce regarded today? Rather than..?
A misfortune, rather than it being seen as shameful.
How does cost affect fewer first marriages? E.g…?
Average wedding costs:
£18,400=2022
£17,300=2021
-People would rather spend their money differently e.g. house, a car, NOT for a one-night event.
How do feminists see high divorce rights? Why?
Desirable- shows that women are breaking free from the oppression of the patriarchal nuclear family.
Evidence for fewer people marrying? (2)
-Marriage rates are at their lowest since the 1920s.
-2012=175,000 first marriage
-1970=nearly double 2012
4 reasons for the fall in the number of first marriages? +explain briefly! (same as reasons for divorce)
-Changing attitudes to marriage: quality of relationship>legal status.
-Secularisation: as influence of the Church decline>people are freer to chose not to marry.
-Declining stigma attached to alternatives to marriage: cohabitation, remaining single, having children outside of marriage=widely acceptable.
-Changes in the position of women: women are less economically dependent on men.
What is cohabitation? Statistic?
-An unmarried couple in a sexual relationship living together.
-Estimated 69,000 same-sex cohabiting couples.
4 reasons for an increase in cohabitation?
-Decline in stigma attached to sex outside marriage.
-The young are more likely to accept cohabitation.
-Less need for financial security of a marriage>freer to opt for cohabitation.
-Secularisation>people with no religion are more likely to cohabit, than those with a religion.
Limitation of cohabitation?
-The relationship between marriage and cohabitation is not clear-cut.
-For some couples, cohabitation is just a step on the way to getting married.
-Coast states: 75% of cohabiting couples say that they expect to marry each other.
How has there been an increased social acceptance of same-sex relationships in recent years?
-Most recently, the age of consent has been equalised with hetrosexuals
-Since 2002, cohabiting same-sex couples have had the same right to adopt as married couples
-2004 Civil Partnership Act gave same-sex couples the same legal rights to married couples e.g. properties, inheritance, pensions.
Overall, what are the 2 key changing patterns of marriage?
-Decrease in first marriages.
-Increase in same-sex marriages.
With marriage losing it’s appeal, what are people turning to? 2 examples:
Alternative ways of living:
-Living alone
-Living with others
Some are temporary, some are long term.
What are the 4 key alternative living arrangements?
-Cohabitation
-One-person households
-Living apart together
-Lone parenthood
Give evidence for fewer people living in couples.
Which 2 groups of people are most likely to live alone?
2013: 3 in 10 households contained only one person- tripled since 1961
-Pensioners- doubled since 1961
-Men under 65
What has led to more one-person households? Especially amongst…why?
Increase in separation and divorce, especially amongst men under 65- following a dirvorce, children are more likely to live with their mothers, father is more likely to leave the family home.
What is ‘living apart together’? Includes who?
A significant relationship, but is not cohabiting or married. Includes about half of the people that is classified as single.
What did research by Duncan and Phillips find for the British Social Attitudes Survey (2013)?
Evaluate of their research?
1 in 10 adults are living apart together. However, Duncan and Phillips found that choice and constraint play a part in whether couples live together.
-Choice: a minority actively chose to live apart e.g. because of a previous troubled relationship.
-Constraint: some said that they could not afford to.
2 statistics on lone-parent families
-Lone-parent families make up 22% of all families with children
-A child living with a lone-parent is twice as likely to be in poverty, than a child with two parents
2 reasons for the increase of lone-parent families.
-Increase in divorce and separation
-Increase in never-married woman having children (more recently)- links with the decline in stigma attached to births outside marriage.
What percent of lone-parent families are female headed?
What happened in the 1990s?
90%.
In the 1990s, divorced women were the largest group of lone-parents.
4 Reasons why lone-parent families tend to be female headed?
-Widespread belief that women are by nature suited to an expressive and nurturing role
-Divorce courts usually give custody of children to mothers
-Men may be less willing than woman to give up work to take care of children
-Single by choice=mothers may not wish to cohabit or marry, or chose to limit the fathers involvement with the child
What are the key ethnic difference in family patterns?
-South Asian families: marry younger, low divorce rate, more children, stricter gender roles, TRADITIONAL NUCLEAR.
-Afro-Caribbean families: lone-parent and female headed, absent fathers.
2 reasons why black families have high rates of female headed, lone-parent families?
-Evidence of family diorganisation that can be traced back to slavery: when couples were sold separately, children stayed with their mothers.
-High rates of unemployment amongst black males: black men are less able to provide for their family>abandonment and divorce.
What does Mizra argue?
Higher rates of lone-parent families amongst blacks is not the result of disorganisation, but reflects the high value that black women place on independence.
Reason for why south Asian families tend to be large?
-Households often contain 3 generations
-Value placed on the extended families: in earlier periods of migration, houses were often shared by extended families.
