Changing family patterns Flashcards
What percentage of all marriages end in divorce ?
40%
What are the 7 explanations for the increase in divorce?
- Changes in law
- Secularisation
- Decline in stigma/ changing attitudes
- Rising expectations of marriage
- Women’s increased financial independence
- Feminist explanations
- Modernity and individualisation
What laws have been put in place that contributes to the rising divorce rates ?
1923 - Equalising the grounds of divorce
1949 - Divorce made cheaper
1969 - Divorce reform act proposed
1971- divorce reform act came into play, allowed couples to get a divorce due to irretrievable breakdown
Mitchel and Goody (1997)
Since the 1960’s there’s been a decrease in stigma attached to divorce as its become normalised. People now look to this to resolve their issues
interviewed 2 people and one said that the day their parents got divorced was the best day of their lives where as the other said she has never recovered from her dad leaving
Fletcher (1966)
High expectations make couples less likely to tolerate unhappiness. The ideology of romantic love means people believe marriage should solely be based on love between partners
Alan and Crow (2001)
People no longer see marriage as a binding contract but a relationship where individuals seek personal fulfilment and will Get a divorce if they don’t find this
What statistics can you use whilst talking about women’s changing position ?
53% of women in paid work in 1971, rising to 73% in 2021
What does the feminist explanation to an increased divorce rate say?
Women suffer a dual burden which creates conflict between husband and wife. Marriage still remains patriarchal
Hochschild (1997)
Home life for women is unfavourable but work life is favourable as they are treated as equals to men
Bernard (1976)
Divorce rates are increasing as a reaction to the growing acceptance of feminist views and an acknowledgement of the oppressive patriarchal marriage
Single- Rushton (ESRC 2007)
Women who have a dual burden of paid work and domestic work are more likely to divorce than non-working mothers
What does the new right say about divorce?
It’s undesirable as it undermines marriage and the traditional nuclear family. It creates an underclass of welfare dependant lone parents who burden the state
What do feminists say about divorce?
Welcome high divorce rates as its showing that women are breaking free from patriarchal oppression of the nuclear family
What do postmodernists and the individualisation thesis say about divorce?
High divorce rates show that individuals now have more freedom to end a relationship that no longer meets their needs. They see divorce as a source of family diversity
What do functionalists say about divorce?
High divorce rates isn’t a threat to marriage as there is still high rates of re-marriage which tells us that people are still committed to the idea of marriage. Instead, it shows that people have higher expectations of marriage
What does the interactionist Morgan say about divorce?
We can not generalise the meaning of divorce because it is different for everyone
What does the interactionalists Mitchell and goody’s study tell us about divorce?
interviewed 2 people and one said that the day their parents got divorced was the best day of their lives where as the other said she has never recovered from her dad leaving
Shows it impacts everyone differently
What does the personal life perspective say about divorce?
Divorce can cause problems like financial difficulty and lack of contact with children
Name 5 reasons why there has been a change in marriage rates
- Changes in attitudes to marriage
- Secularisation
- Decline in stigma
- Changing position of women
- Fear of divorce
What did the 2001 consensus find about marriage ?
Young people with no religion were less likely to marry than young people with a religion
What are 3 reasons for increased cohabitiation
- Young people are more accepting
- Increased career opportunities for women
- Secularisation
In 2021, how many cohabiting heterosexual couples were there?
3.6 million
- this has risen by 144% compared to 1996
In 2021, how many cohabiting homosexual couples were there?
69,000
Coast (2006)
75% of cohabiting couples say that they expect to marry each other
Benjin (1993)
Cohabitation is a conscious attempt to make amore equal relationship
In 2019 what percent of marriages were re marriages ?
14.7 %
What is the average age that men and women get married at ?
Women - 32
Men - 34
Stonewall (2022)
Only 71% of Gen Z identify as straight compared to 91% of baby boomers
Why has there been an increase in same-sex relationships ?
- Male homosexuality was decriminalised in 1967 for consenting adults over 21
- More tolerance / changing attitudes
- 2002 right to adopt
- 2004 civil rights partnership act
- 2014 same sex couples can marry
Weeks (1999)
homosexual couple are starting to mirror heterosexual relationships
Allan and crow
homosexual couples are more equal because they negotiate their commitment and responsibilities more then heterosexual couples
Reasons for an increase in one-person households
increased divorce rates
people are marrying later
people are opting for ‘creative single hood’
In 2022, how many households were one-person
13%
What percent of one-person households are over 65
51%
Duncan and Phillips (2013)
1 in 10 adults are in LAT’s
What percent of people see LATs as the ideal relationship
20%
Why do people want to LAT
- people can’t afford to live together
- want to keep their own home
- previous troubled relationships
In 2021, what percent of babies were born outside of marriage ?
51%
Why has there been a change in childbearing ?
- decline in stigma
- increased cohabitation
in 2022, what percent of families are lone-parent families ?
15%
what percent of lone-parent families are headed by a lone mother?
84%
