Changing family patterns

Question 1

Divorce patterns

Answer 1

40% of marriages in the UK end up in divorce
7/10 come from women

Question 2

5 main reasons for current divorce patterns

Answer 2

Changes in law
Declining stigma about divorce
Secularisation
Rising expectations of marriage
Womens independance

Question 3

Changes in the law

Answer 3

Divorce used to be extremely difficult to obtain in 19th century- especially for women.
3 changes have been made: Equalising grounds of divorce, widening grounds of divorce, making divorce cheaper
for example, divorce reform act 1969 now allowed both spouses to file for divorce without providing much of a reason

Question 4

Declining stigma

Answer 4

Divorce was very disregarded in society by numerous different groups: older generations, ethnic groups
Now much more socially acceptable (Mitchell and Goody)
Divorce has now been normalised

Question 5

Secularisation

Answer 5

Decline of religious influence in society
Traditional, religious inspired belief of opposition to divorce now carries less weight
eg Muslim community has highest rate of divorces
Many Churches have now softened their views on divorce
However, Roman Catholicism opposes divorce as they see marriage as a life long sacrament,

Question 6

Rising expectations of marriage

Answer 6

Fletcher (1966) argued higher expectations are placed on marriage
Giddens’ came up with the theory that ‘romantic love is now the reason that people marry
Confluent love has also emerged which challenges traditional assumptions of how and why love should be maintained
Functionalists still optimistic as people marry

Question 7

Women’s increased financial independance

Answer 7

Women are more likely to be paid in work
eg Equal pay act 1970
Girls performing better in schools now they have more to aspire to, end of traditional housewife role
More arguments now that women are being paid in work
Single mums can rely on welfare state

Question 8

Functionalist evaluation

Answer 8

Functionalists- high divorce rate is undersirable, does not mean marriage is under threat as an insitution just shows people have high expectations
high number of remarriages shows a commitment to marriage

Question 9

Feminist evaluation

Answer 9

High divorce rate is desirable
Representative of womens liberation
Women are breaking free of the oppression of the patriarchal nuclear family

Question 10

New right evaluation

Answer 10

Undesirable
Undermines traditional nuclear family
Creates underclass of welfare dependence
Leaves young boys without a male role model
Links to how David Cameron introduced tax reduction for people who are married

Question 11

Marriage patterns

Answer 11

Marriage rates have been falling since 1972

Question 12

Reasons for change in marriage patterns

Answer 12

Changing role of women
Changing social attitude
Changes to social institutions
Rising divorce and insecurity of relationships
Increase in cohabitation

Question 13

Changing role of women

Answer 13

Career aspirations of women have meant there has been a rise in the average age people marry
Greater control over reproductive rights and increased medical technology means women can delay having children
Financial and social independence of women mean they are more likely to look for right partner to satisfy their needs rather than a financial agreement

Question 14

Changing social attitudes

Answer 14

Alternatives to marriage such as cohabitation, LAT relationships as a response to changing attitudes of people
Giddens’ idea of confluent love and Bauman’s idea of liquid love says people will opt for serial monogamy over long term relationships

Question 15

Changes to social insitutions

Answer 15

Family provides less functions than in previous generations- individuals can find self fulfilment through support networks
Process of secularisation has to led to more people to see marriage as an outdated institution, and less stigma attached to alternatives to marriage
Only 23% of marriages took place in place on worship in 2017 which suggests secular nature of relationships
Greater reflexivity and self-improvement which has led to more individualism rather than romantic love

Question 16

Rising divorce and insecurity of relationships

Answer 16

People delay marriages until they’re sure due to fear of divorce
Increased unstable relationships has led to people to attempt to control risks they face in relationships
However, divorce rare is declining, remarriage is increasing

Question 17

Increase in cohabitation

Answer 17

Alongside LATS and lone person households, many couples choose they get to live together before marriage
Suggests that this acts as a form of trial marriage
88% of couples in 2017 lived together before marriage