Changing family patterns Flashcards
1
Q
What is most common family type in the UK?
A
the nuclear family
2
Q
What types of family are rapidly increasing in recent years?
A
single person, lone parent, cohabitation and beanpole families
3
Q
What are Rapoport and Rapoport’s 5 types of family diversity?
A
- organisational diversity (differences in how families are structured)
- cultural diversity (differences that come from norms of different cultures
- class diversity (different views on the family are held by different classes)
- life course diversity (differences caused by the different stages in life)
- cohort diversity (differences created by historical periods)
4
Q
What is the ‘individualisation thesis’?
A
Giddens - individual choice dictates family relationships:
- class and gender no longer stops people from choosing their life course e.g uni
- people don’t have to stay in relationships because of expectations e.g lone parent families
5
Q
Why do postmodernists argue that there is no longer a single dominant family structure?
A
- because women’s rights and contraception have resulted in more choice
- people suit their own needs rather than following tradition or religion or the gov
- relationships only last if their needs are met, creating instability
6
Q
What has happened to marriage rates in the UK and why?
A
- at their lowest ever in 2009, but increased in 2010
- Duncan and Phillips - people are ‘living apart together’ (serious relationships but not cohabiting or married)
- couples are delaying marriage
- men die before women so widows make up a lot of single-person households
7
Q
What has happened to the divorce rate in the UK and why?
A
- a steady rise, over 40% of marriages end in divorce
- divorce is easier to obtain
- divorce is more socially acceptable
- women have higher expectations of marriage
- women don’t have to depend on husbands financially
- marriages are now focuses on emotional fulfillment
