Changing family patterns

Question 1

give 4 changes in patterns of marriage in recent years

Answer 1

• fewer people marrying
• more remarriages
• people marrying later
• less likely to marry in a church

Question 2

give the 4 reasons for changes in patterns of first marriages

Answer 2

• changing attitudes and decline in stigma
• secularisation
• changing positions of women
• fear of divorce

Question 3

why has there been an increase in remarriages?

Answer 3

due to an increase in divorce

Question 4

give 4 reasons for increase in cohabitation

Answer 4

• decline in stigma attached to sex outside of marriage
• younger generation are more likely to cohabit
• increased career opportunities for women providing financial security
• secularisation

Question 5

briefly explain Stonewall (2012) impact on same sex relationships

Answer 5

made same sex marriages accepted more widely ins society after homosexual acts were decriminalised in 1967

Question 6

briefly explain Weeks (1999) and Weston (1992) ideas of same sex relationships

Answer 6

weeks: sees gays as creating families based on idea of friendship as kinship that create ‘chosen families’ that offer same security as heterosexual families

Weston: many gay couples are now cohabiting

Question 7

give 3 reasons for an increase in one person households

Answer 7

• separation and divorce created more one person households
• trend of marrying later means more people remain single
• mainly older widows

Question 8

who are most likely to live in one person households?

Answer 8

40% are over 65
men under 65 most likely

Question 9

give 4 changing trends of childbearing

Answer 9

• 47% children are born outside of marriage
• women having children later
• women having fewer children
• more women remain childless

Question 10

give 2 reasons for changing trends of childbearing

Answer 10

• increase of births outside of marriage: decline in stigma and increase in cohabitation
• women having children later, childless, fewer children: changing position of women and increase in choice (contraception, 2014 70% women used it), decline in stigma

Question 11

give 4 trends in lone parent families

Answer 11

• make up 22% of families with children
• 1 in 4 children live in lone parent family
• 90% of these are headed by women
• child from lone parent = more likely to be in poverty

Question 12

give 3 reasons for rise in lone parent families

Answer 12

• increase in divorce
• decline in stigma
• female headed due to women given custody due to their nurturing background and men less likely to give up work for childcare

Question 13

briefly explain Murray (new right) view on lone parenthood, the welfare state and poverty

Answer 13

increase in lone parent families due to over generous welfare state providing benefits. This has created perverse incentive (rewards irresponsible behaviour like having kids without being able to provide for them).
Welfare state has created a dependency culture of people assuming welfare state will support them.

Murray believes solution is to abolish welfare benefits to reduce dependency culture that encourages births outside of marriages

Question 14

give 2 statistics on stepfamilies

Answer 14

• make up 10% of all families
• in 85% of them at least one child is from womens previous relationship and in 11% at least one child from mans and in 4% they are from both partners

Question 15

give 3 impacts from rise in stepfamilies due to increase in divorce

Answer 15

• more children from women’s previous relationship due to women’s tendency to be honoured custody
• greater risk of poverty as more children to provide for
• face more tensions as lack of clear social norms for individuals in step families

Question 16

what did the 2011 census show about ethnic differences in family patterns?

Answer 16

86% of UK population were white of the 14% belonging to an ethnic minority.
greater ethnic diversity has contributed to changing family patterns int he UK

Question 17

give 2 reasons for why black families have a higher proportion of lone parents households

Answer 17

• Mirza agues it is due to the high value placed on independence by black women
• Reynolds argues the statistics are misleading as lone parents are in fact in a stable supportive by non-cohabiting relationship

Question 18

give 3 reasons for why Asian families (Bangladeshi, Pakistani and Indian households) tend to be larger than other ethnic groups

Answer 18

• result of younger age profile of British Asians since a higher proportion are of childbearing age groups
• reflects value placed on extended family
• practical need for migration

Question 19

briefly summarise Parsons (func) view on extended families

Answer 19

it is the dominant family type in pre-industrial society but in modern society sociologists argue it has been replaced by nuclear family

Question 20

what are the 2 demographic changes for increase in beanpole families

Answer 20

increased life expectancy and smaller family size

Question 21

briefly explain why extended families are occurring due to obligations to relatives

Answer 21

Cheap argues sons in caregiving are chosen more for financial help whereas daughters are preferred as caregivers.
Finch and Mason found 90% of people had given or received financial help and had cared for a sick relative