changing family patterns Flashcards
what is monogamy?
being married/in a relationship with only one other person
what is serial monogamy?
move from one relationship to the next very quickly
what is secularisation?
decline of religion and the loss of influence that religion has on people
what is cohabitation?
living with your partner without being married to them
what is stigma?
disgrace associated with one person, circumstance or quality
how has marriage declined because of changing social attitudes?
- changing social attitudes/norms
- less pressure to marry
- freedom to choose relationship type
- alternatives such as cohabitation are less stigmatized
- having children outside marriage is now accepted
how has marriage declined due to secularisation?
- declining religious influence
- religion is no longer as important as it used to be
- the church is in favour of marriage
- religion is loosing social influence
- links to changing social attitudes
- couples also are less likely to marry in a church due to secularisation and churches wont marry divorcees (many of whom are re marrying)
how has the changing position of women made marriage decline?
- better education/financial prospects means women are economically independent and have the freedom not to marry for financial security
- feminism means some women see marriage as a patriarchal institution
cohabitation
- fastest growing family type of family in UK
- popular option for young couples
- often seen as a temporary phase before marriage (trial marriage)
- sometimes seen as an alternative to marriage
why has cohabitation had an increase?
- decline in stigma attached to sex outside marriage
- career opportunities for women makes them freer to choose different relationship types
- secularisation - young people more likely to cohabit
reasons for increase in same sex relationships:
greater acceptance - homosexuality decriminalised in 1967
legal equality - policies treating all couples more equally (Marriage ((Same Sex Couples)) Act 2013)
age of consent - now same as heterosexual (16)
one person household TRENDS
- big rise in people living alone
- in 2013 3 in 10 households (7.7 million people) lived alone - 40% are pensioners
- estimation: by 2033 30% of the adult population will be single (never married)
- less social pressure to get married
REASONS behind trends in one person households
- people delaying getting married
- divorced couples - usually man living alone
- widows
- less social pressure to get married so people are actively choosing to remain single
living apart together (LAT) TRENDS
- 1 in 10 uk adults are in a ‘living apart together’ relationship
- many people want to have their own homes but consider themselves in a relationship
REASONS behind the living apart together trends
- 31% said it was too early / they weren’t ready to cohabit
- 30% expressed a preference for not living together, including wanting to keep their own homes/prioritizing other responsibilities/children or just ‘not wanting to live together’
- 19% said they couldn’t afford to live together
- 12% said their partner had a job/studying elsewhere or living in an institution (care home/prison)
childbearing TRENDS
- 47% children born outside of marriage (although most couples are cohabitating)
- fertility rate - women are having fewer children
- more women are remaining childless
- women having children later in life
REASONS behind the trends of less childbearing
- changing attitudes
- birth control
- increase in women’s participation in the labour market
- more women in higher education
- people want more freedom
lone parent families TRENDS
- make up 22% of all families
- 90% are female headed
- belief women are more suited to expressive role#
- courts usually give custody to women
- men less likely to give up work for childcare
REASONS behind the trends of lone parent families
- increase in divorce and separation
- decline in stigma attached to birth outside marriage
lone parents + poverty
- expensive childcare
- inadequate benefits
- females earn less than men
- lack of maintenance from absent parent
reconstituted/blended families
- make up 10% of all families
- causes are: lone parents / divorce / separation
- similar to first families
- higher risk of financial problems
- sometimes face tension relating to contact with non resident parent
