changing family patterns

Question 1

reason for the decline in marriage: secularisation

Answer 1

-decline in religious influence has reduced the pressure to marry

Question 2

reason for the decline in marriage: individualism

Answer 2

people increasingly prioritise personal fulfilment and autonomy

Question 3

reason for the decline in marriage: economic changes

Answer 3

• marriages is often delayed due to financial pressures or career ambitions

Question 4

reason for the decline in marriage: rise in cohabitation

Answer 4

-cohabitation has become socially acceptable with many couples viewing it as a trial.

-cohabiting couples live together for longer periods before marrying

Question 5

reason for the increase in divorce:

Answer 5

• risen significantly since the divorce reform act- made divorce easier to obtain

Question 6

reason for the increase in divorce:

Answer 6

-legal changes made divorce easier
-increased expectations of marriage based on emotional satisfaction rather than social obligation
-feminism- greater financial independence for women made it easier to leave unsatisfactory marriages

Question 7

consequences on increase in divorce

Answer 7

-contributed to an increase in lone parent families, blended families and a trend towards serial monogamy

Question 8

childbearing: decline in child birth rates reasons:

Answer 8

-changing attitudes of women: women now focus on their education/ career and so have children later in life

-contraception
-financial consideration: high cost of raising children leads to delay in children

Question 9

evaluation of decline in child birth rates

Answer 9

-reflects shifts in gender roles and economic pressure
-but also raise concerns about an ageing population and few people available to support future generations

Question 10

Chester(1985)

Answer 10

-proposed the concept of Neo -conventional -suggesting that while families became more diverse, nuclear family still remain dominant

-Neo-conventional family : dual earner families in which both parents go to work

Question 11

evaluation of Chester

Answer 11

-acknowledges changes in family forms

-but maintains the traditional family structures as important for social stability- ignores the significance of family diversity

Question 12

Stacey( 1998)

Answer 12

Postmodernists Stacey: argues that family now forms based on personal choice rather than societal expectations

Question 13

evaluation of Stacey

Answer 13

-challenges the dominance of nuclear family highlighting the significance of personal choice and gender equality

-however critcs argue that she overlooks the persistence of trad family norms in many parts of society

Question 14

Weeks (2000)

Answer 14

focuses on the growing significance of individualism and personal choice in the family lie particularly in the context of same-sex relationships

-chosen families: weeks argues that LGBTQ+ individuals often create “families of choice “ where emotional and supportive relationship, rather than blood ties, form the foundation of family life
-reflects broader societal acceptance of diverse family forms

Question 15

evaluation of weeks

Answer 15

-highlights the move away from traditional heterosexual family structrue

critiqued for overlooking challenged LGBTQ+ individuals still face e.g legal or social discrimination

Question 16

Individualisation( Becks and Giddens)

Answer 16

• late modernity: relationships have become more individualised.

-people now have greater freedom to choose their own family forms based on personal fulfilment rather than societal norms

-Giddens pure relationship: a relationship based on emotional intimacy and equality rather than obligation and duty. argues that pure relationships are becoming more common as trad marriages become less central to family life.

Question 17

evaluation of becks and giddens

Answer 17

highlights the importance of personal choice but can overlook the continuing influence of social norms, economic constraints and gender inequality