changing patterns in family

Question 1

Divorce , marriage and cohabitation

Answer 1

Marriage rates are at an all time low and people are also marrying later around 30s ,remarriages are also on the rise 1/3 of weddings are remarriages
More couples are choosing to cohabit 12.5% currently , around 20% of cohabiters are serial cohabiters
Divorce has steadily increased with the occasional fluctuation , 40% of marriages end in divorce

Question 2

Reasons for decline in marriage and raise in divorce and cohabitation

Answer 2

Changes to the divorce laws 
Secularisation 
Declining stigma and changing attitudes 
changing position of women 
raised expectations

Question 3

Changes to divorce laws

Answer 3

Pre 1969 matrimonial offences were required in order to terminate a marriage
1969 divorce reform act accepted that couples fall out of love
Divorce is easily accessible
Also leads to declining marriage rates and more couples cohabiting as there is a fear of how easy divorce is with the average marriage only being 12 years . If they cohabit , it is easier to split up

Question 4

Evaluation of changes to the divorce law

Answer 4

From the 1970’ the position women has changed and women don’t tend to prioritise marriage
People don’t realistically factor in divorce when planning relationships

Question 5

Changing attitudes and declining stigma

Answer 5

Stigma - negative label attached to something
Mitchell and Goody : in the past divorce was shameful so people tolerated an empty shell marriage ( loveless marriage) to save their face

Nowadays people actively celebrate divorce
Up until the 1970’ women were questioned if they were still single in to their 20’ and labelled as spinsters
Women have undergone a gender quake and their is less pressure to marry young

In the past cohabitation was unheard of and this stigma has declined
90% of couples nowadays will cohabit
The stigma has been largely eradicated

Question 6

Evaluation of changing attitudes and declining stigma

Answer 6

For many people divorce is still shameful eg if they have been divorced multiple times
Women are still questioned if they don’t settle down and have children

Question 7

Secularisation

Answer 7

Decline in religious authority
30% of people in the UK don’t identify with any religious group
Fewer then 1/3 of weddings have christian services
In the past cohabiting was living in sin however as people no longer fear being labelled as a sinner , the have no concerns about living together without being married
The CofE has softened its views on divorce .
People now feel freer to make decisions and religion no longer dictates what people can and cannot do

Question 8

Evaluation of secularisation

Answer 8

For many people religions continues to play a huge role in their life choices
People didn’t necessarily care about religion in the past , they carried more about social judgement

Question 9

Rising expectations of marriage

Answer 9

Fletcher : there is a culture of romantic love
People are more willing to walk away if the idea of romantic love isn’t fulfilled leading to a rise in divorces

Beck and Giddens : today people seek pure relationships where the main goal is to satisfy each other
If needs are not met then people will terminate their marriage
They say most relationships are confluent

People are put off marriage as they assume too many compromises are needed and the want to test the water first so cohabitation is on the rise .

Question 10

Evaluation of raising expectations of marriage

Answer 10

People today may simply be too busy to pursue relationships

In the past people may have had high expectations but their were barriers that prevented them of pursuing this

Question 11

Changing position of women

Answer 11

Society has undergone a gender quake connected to the feminisation of the economy .
1970’ Brough about equality laws .
Women today have far greater financial independence eg earn their own wages so don’t need to rush in to marriage for financial stability .
Contribute to a rise in divorce as women today find it easier to leave a loveless or abusive relationship as they can support themselves and they won’t end up destitute
Women are also becoming less tolerant of the dual burden and are willing to file for divorce

Women are becoming for conscious of the presence of patriarchy so turn their back on marriage entirely

Question 12

Evaluation of the changing position of women

Answer 12

Just because women have jobs doesn’t automatically mean they seek a divorce
The majority of women do go on to seek relationships with men

Question 13

Rise in same sex households

Answer 13

7% of adults openly live in same sex relationships
2 main reasons why same sex relationships are more common :

1) Legal and political changes
Until 1967 homosexuality was illegal until the sexual offences act
Age of consent was lowered to 18 for same sex couples and then brought in to line with heterosexual couples
Ban on gay people serving in the armed forces was lifted on gay people
Adoption rights were given and in 2014 Full marriage rights were granted

2) Shift in attitudes
1983 : only 17% of people thought same sex relationship were not wrong at all
2016: 64%
In the 1980s : Aids epidemic and section 28

Question 14

Opposition to same sex households

Answer 14

some religious institutions provide conversion therapy and hate crime has been on the rise in the recent years for LGBT community.

Question 15

Sociologists study in to same sex couples

Answer 15

Same sex couples are chosen family in which they try to create the basis of a nuclear family . In the past they had to hide who they were but now they can pursue a traditional family life
Same sex couples are less stable as they have no expectations for their roles to fulfil so must negotiate each role with their partner leading to them being prone to conflict

Question 16

Single person households

Answer 16

30% of all households are single person households
2 main reasons for this :

1. Changes to adult relationships , inevitably more divorce and less marriage contributes to single person households . Women tend to get custardy after a divorce so men often live alone
   Many people are choosing to live alone (create single hood )
2. New trend of LATs as people no longer feel the need to live together and this child be due to careers and geographical locations
   People do not feel the need to live with one another
   LATs are classed as single by law

Question 17

Parent child relationships

Answer 17

Smaller family sizes
lone parent families
Reconstituted families

Question 18

Smaller family sizes

Answer 18

TFR is 1.4 in the 90s it was 2.6
Women are prioritising careers so delay having children and are therefore less fertile due to age .
Today children are an economic burden and women may have less children to account for this

Question 19

Lone parent families

Answer 19

25% of families today are lone parents
3 main reasons for this :

1. Stigma has declined so women are no longer judged for falling pregnant outside of marriage and aren’t pressured into illegal abortions , adoptions or shotgun marriages
2. Divorce rate has contributed to the rise in single mother hood as the courts tend to play on gender stereotypes so mothers get custardy
3. Many women actively choose to be single mothers eg if the relationship with the farther was abusive or unsatisfactory .

Question 20

Sociologists views on lone parenthood

Answer 20

Feminism : women are empowered and indicates a changing position for women

New Rights : Murray the welfare state provides women with perverse incentives to get pregnant in order to get housing
State welfare has lead to a dependancy culture where people expect to be supported creating a social underclass

Question 21

Reconstituted families

Answer 21

10% of families
Step families are a product of the rising trends of divorce and marriage
Ferri and Smith : no different to nuclear families but are more likely to live in poverty
Allan and Crow : reconstituted families are more prone to tension especially if the new couple decide to have children together
Mcarthy et al : each family is individual and will experience different degrees of tension

Question 22

Migration and family diversity

Answer 22

Experiences of Asian family life

experiences of black family life

Question 23

Experiences of the asian family life

Answer 23

Most common structure is the nuclear family and asian women generally have more children than white women. Extended families are also more common especially vertical extended families (multiple generations living in the same house)
Ongoing acceptance of traditional family values : arranged marriage
On average asian people marry younger eg 25 instead of 30
Nuclear families tend to be larger
Still an obligation to care for elderly relatives

Question 24

Experiences of Black families

Answer 24

50% of families are single parent
Mainly mothers : they found they could handle the family better , culture of modern individualism (women are more empowered) , found it easier alone

Matriarchal culture - strong supportive women look out for each other

Question 25

Natural change and family diversity

Answer 25

The extended family is making a comeback and the concept of modified extended family is now common
Beanpole family is also on the rise

Variations across social groups : MC families it tends to be men that provide support with finances
WC support tends to be women who help with domestic labour and child rearing

Pivot generation : middle aged women
Sense of duty and obligation to provide care