Changing Family Patterns Flashcards
How can changes in the Law explain increase in divorce?
DRA makes divorce easier, cheaper and faster(1969)
-Equal and wider grounds for divorce
-e.g ‘irretrievable breakdown’ grounds for divorce 1971
What are the patterns in divorce?
40% of marriages end in divorce
-65% of divorce petitions are made by women
How can declining stigma and changing attitudes explain increase in divorce?
Divorce becomes more socially acceptable and is thus normalised so more indivduals likely to do it
How can secularisation explain increase in divorce?
-The influence that the church has to reduce divorce is decreased
-The church has also softened their views on divorce
-Church attendance declining
How can rising expectations of marriage explain increase in divorce?
Fletcher- indivduals want romantic love (Mr and Mrs Right) and expect that. If this is not there, they will divorce
-In past, marriage was based on duty/ economic means not love, so indivuduals withstood od unhappiness ss
How can womens increased financial independence explain increase in divorce?
Women more likely to be in paid work so More able to support yourself in the event of a divorce
-Not relying on husband financially so are less tolerable of conflict
How can feminist explanations explain increase in divorce?
-Women more aware of patriarchal nature of marriage and so are less lily to tolerate it
-Women carry dual burden,triple shift
Paid work has more rewards.
-mens resistance to housework produces more conflict
- less time to deal with these conflicts as they have paid work
How do feminists criticise fletchers view of the rising expectations of marriage?
Thay argue that marital conflict is the main cause of divorce, not pursuit of romantic love
-They also argue it ignores why more women who seek divorce
How can modernity and individualisation explain increase in divorce?
Giddens and Beck- in modern society, we pursue relationships out of self interest so leave if not fulfilled (not a pure relationship) = more fragile relationships=more divorce
What do different sociological perspectives believe about high divorce rates?
New right-undesireable as undermines trad nuclear family
Feminists-desireable=women not oppressed
Postmodernists-shows choice relationships, explains greater family diversity
func-result of higher expectations,but remarriage rates show commitment to marriage
interactionalists- divorce has different meanings to different ppls
What are the pattern in marriage in recent years?
-low marriage rate
-1/3 of all marriages are remarriages
-People marrying later
-Decline in religious weddings
What are the reasons for the changing patterns in marriage?
-Secularisation
-Declining stigma attatched to alternatives
-Changes in womens position
-Fear of divorces
How can the increase in remarriages, age on marrying and decline in religious weddings be explained
Remarriages- increase in divorce
Age of marrying-More focus on career/education as well as cohabitation
Religious weddings- secularisation, churches refuse to marry divorcees
What are the trends in cohabitation?
-Increase
-3.5 million cohabiting heterosexual couples in britain
What are the reasons for an increase in cohabitation?
-decline in stigma around sex before marriage
-secularisation
-women have more oppurtunities so dont need financial support of a marriage
What are the two ways couples see cohabitation?
-A temporary phase before marriage (trial marriage)
-Permanent alternative to marriage
What did Shelton and John find about cohabiting couples?
Women who cohabit do less housweowkr than their married counterparts
What are the trends in same sex relationships?
5-7% of the population are in same sex relationships ( Stonewall 2012)
Why are the reasons behind an increase in same-sex relationships?
-increased social acceptance
-Changes in law e.g decriminalisation of gay marriage in 1967, 2014 legalisation of gay marriage
What are the trends in one person households?
-3/10 households are one person households
-1/2 of one person households are over 65
-men under 65 largest group living alone
What are the reasons behind the trends in one person households?
-Increase in seperation and divorce
-Decrease in marriage and trend in marrying later
-‘Creative singlehood’; choosing to live alone
-Too few partners for them (older widows)
-Women get custody of kids and so men live in OPH
What are the trends in LAT couples?
1/10 couples are LAT
-Increase
What are the trends in childbearing?
-Nearly half of all children are born out of marriage
-Women having children later (30.7 years old)
-Women having fewer children (1.5)
-More women remaining childless
What are the reason for the changes in childbearing
-births out of marriage= declining stigma
-later age of having children, smaller family sizes, more childlessness= women have more options, not just motherhood; may chose a career
What are the trends in lone parent families?
1 in 5 child lives in a lone parent household
-90% of lone parent families are matrifocal
-A child living with a single parent is 2x as likely to be in poverty
What are the reasons behind the increase in lone parent household?
-Increased divorce and seperation
-decline in stigma to births outside of marriage
Why are lone parent households more likely to be female-headed?
-divorce courts usually give custody to mother
-More women choosing to be single by choice
- belief women are more suited to nurturing role
According to Murray, why has there been a growth in lone parent households and how should this be tackled?
-over generous welfare state, leads to perverse incentive and thus dependency culture
-Welfare benefits should be abolished
How can the New right view of lone parenthood be criticised?
-Welfare state is not overgenerous
-LPH more likely to be in poverty due to ; fathers failing to pay child support, lack of affordable childcare leads to unemployement
What are the patterns in stepfamilies and why?
Increase= more lone parens due to divorce/seperation
Greater risk of poverty= man might have to pay child support to previous children
What are the differences in family patterne between ethnicities?
Asian; high marriage rate+fertility, low cohab+divorce,arranged marriage common
White british; later/ lower marriage+fertility rates, high cohab+divorce
Black carribean: lowest marriage rate, low fertility rates, high loneparenthood
What are the changes in British Asian families?
-Changing attitudes in younger generation; attitudes to divorce
What are the reasons behind the lone parenthood stats of black british families?
Mirza- black women place high value on independence
-Reynolds, not lone-parent but relationships that are non-cohabiting but still supportive
What does Wilmott suggest about the extended family today?
Although it had decreased, the dispersed extended family is now prevelant (geographically sepreated but still in contact through visits/calls)
