Changing family Patterns

Question 1

Divorce

Answer 1

Divorce is a major cause of changing family patterns and greater family diversity. E.g. most re-marriages involve a divorce and divorce creates both lone-parent and one –person households.

Question 2

Changes in the law

Answer 2

There have been three key changes in the law that have made divorce more obtainable
1923 Equalising the grounds of divorce
• The grounds were equalised for men and women, following this there was a sharp rise in divorce petitions from women.
1949 Making divorce cheaper
• Introduction of legal aid for divorce cases lowered the cost of divorce and made it more accessible for the working classes. Legal aid for divorce has now been
withdrawn (since the coalition government).
1971 Widening the grounds for divorce
• rates doubled almost overnight This included ‘irretrievable breakdown’ and made divorce easier to obtain –

Question 3

Decline in stigma and changing attitudes

Answer 3

Stigma refers to the negative label, social disapproval or shame attached to a person, action or relationship.
In the past divorce was very much stigmatised e.g. churches tended to condemn divorce and often refused to conduct marriages of divorcees
• Mitchell & Goody (1997) argue since the 1960s there has been a significant decrease in the stigma attached to divorce.
• As divorce becomes more accepted in society, couples are more likely to turn to it as a way of resolving their issues
• In other words divorce has now become ‘normalised’ – instead of being shameful it is now more likely to be viewed as a misfortune

Question 4

Secularisation

Answer 4

This refers to the decline of the influence religion has in society. Many sociologists argue that religion is losing its influence and society is becoming more secular, e.g. church attendance figures have declined

Question 5

Rising expectation of love

Answer 5

Functionalists such as Fletcher (1966) suggest the high expectations people place on marriage is the major cause of the increase in divorce rates. High expectations make couples less willing to tolerate unhappiness.

Question 6

Changing position of women

Answer 6

Women’s economic position has improved which means they no longer have to rely on men and are therefore freer to choose to divorce if their marriage is unsatisfactory. There are various factors that have contributed to this freedom:

Question 7

Feminist explanation

Answer 7

Feminists say women today suffer a dual burden of paid work and domestic labour. This has created a new source of conflict between husbands and wives and this is leading to a higher divorce rate.

Question 8

Modernity and individualisation

Answer 8

Beck (1992) and Giddens (1992) argue that in a modern society traditional norms such as staying with one partner lose their influence. We are less interested in doing what society expects and more interested in pursuing our own self interests

Question 9

Cohabitation

Answer 9

There are now about 3.6 million cohab heterosexual couples in UK as of 2021. This number has risen by 144% compared to 1996

Reasons for the increase in cohabitation • Decline in stigma attached to sex before marriage
• Young people are more accepting of cohabitation
• Increased career opportunities for women - means they have less need for the
financial security of marriage and so opt for cohabitation
• Secularisation – young people with no religion are more likely to cohabit than those
with a religion

Question 10

Same sex relationships

Answer 10

Male homosexuality was decriminalised in 1967 for consenting adults over 21.
• More recently the age of consent has been equalised with heterosexuals.
• Opinion polls show more tolerance of homosexuality.
• Social policy now treats all couples more equally.
• 2002 Right to Adopt.
• 2004 Civil Right Partnership Act gave same-sex couples similar legal rights to
married couples in respect of pensions, inheritance, tenancies and property.
• Since 2014 same sex couples have been able to marry.

Question 11

One person households

Answer 11

alone.
• In 2022 – 13% of all households are one-person.
• 51% of all one person households are over 65.
Pensioner one person households have more than doubled since 1961.
• Women over 75 are the most likely to live alone.
• However, the number of men living alone has grown by more than the number of women living alone in the past decade (likely due to men’s increasing lifes

Question 12

Living Apart together

Answer 12

This is a couple who are in a significant relationship, but are not married or cohabitating.