Changing Family Patterns : The Extended Family Today Flashcards
What are the trends with the extended family in the UK ?
It is less dominant as it use to be in the pre-industrial society as Parsons suggested but Willmott argues that it is still prominent as families are geographically separated but keep frequent contact via technology. Similarly, Chamberlain founded the sae thing with Black families as they provided support for each other even being geographically separated.
What did Colin Bell’s find about families in Swansea?
He found that both W/C + M/C families had emotional bonds with kin and relied on them for support : Among the M/C, there was more financial help from father to son, W/C families had more frequent contact and there was more domestic help from mothers to daughters.
What is the beanpole family ?
It is a particular type of extended family. It is extended vertically through three or more generations : grandparents parents + children. But it is not extended horizontally : it doesn’t involve aunts, uncles or cousins.
What did Bells find about the beanpole family ?
Found that the same high level of contact between mothers and adult daughters was the same as the 60s. However, Bells found that in the case of brothers and sisters there had been a sharp decline in both support and contact. This suggests a beanpole structure. They are a result of : increased life expectancy + smaller family sizes.
What are the recent trends in obligations to relatives?
Even though there has been an increase in the beanpole family structure there is still occurrence of siblings helping each other financially. However, Finch + Mason found that more is expected of females than males.
