Changing Patterns Of Divorce, Marriage, Cohabitation, Separation, Partnerships & Childbearing Flashcards
divorce
marrage breakdown 1- divorce
Divorce refers to the legal termination of marriage. 1969 Divorce Law Reform Act meant that for the first time marriage could be ended on the terms of ‘irretrievable breakdown’ without a marital offence being committed by either husband or wife. Since 1984 couples have been able to petition for divorce after the first year of marriage.
divorce
marriage breakdown 2- seperation
Separation is when couples agree to live apart after the breakdown of marriage, however they remain legally married. In the past this was sometimes the only solution to the breakdown of marriage as divorce was often too expensive or difficult to obtain.
divorce
marriage breakdown 3- empty shell marriages
where a husband and wife stay together in name only, there is no love or intimacy left between them. Many couples stay in this sort of relationship as a matter of respect. Although such marriages are likely to end in separation or divorce many couples are forced to live together.
divorce
why are divorce statistics not so reliable
Divorce statistics must be treated with caution and we should never take them at face value. If not it is possible to make misleading conclusions about the declining importance of marriage and the family, such as it is declining, when we know currently 65% of all families in the UK are married couples. Divorce statistics only actually tell us the amount of marriages which are legally terminated each year. They do not tell us:
*The amount of couples that are separated but still married
*The amount of unhappy or unstable marriages that existed before divorce was easier and more affordable
divorce
divorce reform act 1969
marrage seen as an irreversable breakdown
divorce
family law act 1996
Increased amount of time before a divorce could be granted to eighteen months, introduced compulsory marriage counselling for a ‘period of reflection’ and required children’s wishes and financial arrangement for children to be agreed before a divorce was granted.
divorce
matrimonial and family proceedings 1984
can divorce after only one year
divorce
2019 new divorce dissolution and seperation law
removed partners having to blame eachother
divorce- explanations for reasons for divorce
changes in law
Changes in the law in the last century have made it much easier and cheaper to get divorced. They have also given men and women equal rights in divorce. The changes in the law very much reflect the changes in social attitudes and norms on marriage and divorce.
In 1971 divorces could be granted based on ‘irretrievable breakdown’ (which means no marital offence needed to have been committed), this resulted in the divorce rate almost doubling.
divorce- explanations for increases in law
decline in stigma and social attitudes
Divorce is no longer seen as a shameful thing to do. It’s much more accepted.
Giddens argues this is a consequence of people pursuing individual choices, as opposed to feeling confined by social attitudes.
divorce- explanations for increasing divorce
secularisation
Secularisation refers to the declining influence of religious beliefs. This has resulted in traditional religious beliefs about divorce being a sin have less impact on society. This is reflected in the church’s softening attitudes towards divorce and divorcees.
divorce- explanations for increased divorce
rising expectations of marriage
Functionalists such as Fletcher argue that the higher expectations people place on marriage today are a major cause of rising divorce rates. Higher expectations make couples less willing to tolerate an unhappy marriage. The functionalist approach therefore argues that the higher divorce rates actually reflect a better quality of those marriages which remain married. The higher expectations of marriage are also reflected in the higher re-marriage rates amongst divorced couples.
divorce-explanations for increasing divorce
changes in the position of women
This is a very important reason for the rising divorce rate. Around two thirds of divorce petitions are initiated by women. One of the reasons could be the improvement in women’s economic conditions means they no longer need to rely on a husband.
Another reason could be the availability of the welfare benefits. Feminists argue that women’s expectations of life and the quality of their relationships have risen during the course of the last century
divorce- theories view on divorce
functionalists, fletcher
Fletcher argue that the high divorce rate is because people now demand more of marriage and does not signify that marriage as a social institution is under threat. They argue that people are more likely to end a marriage now that may have been acceptable in the past. Therefore Fletcher argues that the higher divorce rates may not indicate a decline in the value of marriage but higher standards people have of marriage.
divorce- theories view on divorce
new right
New Right sociologists argue that divorce statistics support their belief that there is a serious crisis in the family. According to them the high divorce rates undermine the traditional nuclear family. They believe that divorce is too easy as a result people are not as committed to marriage and the family as they once were.
divorce- theories view on divorce
liberal femenists
argue that the rise in divorce rates highlights the rise in opportunities women now have. Women no longer have to be reliant upon a husband. They are earning their own money and have their own careers. This all means that their priorities have now changed and marriage and children are not as important as they once were. Feminists argue that married women today suffer a dual burden; they are required to take on paid work in addition to performing domestic labour (housework and childcare). Feminists believe this has created a new source of conflict between husbands and wives, and is contributing to the higher divorce rate. While there has been huge improvements for women in the public sphere, Feminists argue that in the private sphere of the family and personal relationships change has been limited and slow. Many Feminists argue that marriage remains patriarchal, with men benefiting from their wives ‘triple shift’ of paid work, domestic work and emotion work.
The feminist Hochschild (1997) argues that for many women, the home continues to compare unfavourably with work. At work, women feel valued, whereas at home men’s continuing resistance to doing housework is a source of frustration and makes marriage less stable. Women end up doing huge amounts of emotion work. Therefore women’s independence from traditional marriage is a positive thing.
divorce- theories view on divorce
interactionists
aim to understand what divorce means to the individuals. Morgan (1996) argues that we cannot generalise the meaning of divorce because every individual interpretation of it is different.
divorce- theories view on divorce
postmodernists
see high divorce rates as giving individuals the freedom to choose to end a relationship when it no longer meets their needs. They see it as a main cause of family diversity. Beck argues in society traditional norms, such as staying married to one person for life, lose their hold over individuals. As a result, individuals feel free to pursue his or her own interests. This has become known as the individualisation thesis. Relationships therefore become more fragile, because individuals are less willing to remain with a partner if the relationship breaks down.
marriage
marriage stats
In 2016, there were 249,793 marriages in England and Wales, 1.7% more than in 2015, but 1.0% fewer than in 2014.
97.2% of all marriages were between opposite-sex couples and 2.8% were between same-sex couples.
There were 7,019 marriages between same-sex couples in 2016, an increase of 8.1% from 2015; of these marriages, 55.7% were between female couples.
Marriage rates for opposite-sex couples in 2016 were lower at all ages compared with 2006, except for men aged 60 years and over and women aged 50 years and over.
For the first time ever, less than one-quarter (24%) of all marriages in 2016 were religious ceremonies.
80% of divorcees remarry
cohabitation
the meaning of cohabitation
*For some couples it can be a temporary and informal arrangement
*For others it is an alternative or substitute to marriage, a long term, stable and committed partnership, without the legal commitments or patriarchal definitions of a marriage.
*For many it acts as preparation for or as a trial marriage. Chester argued that for most people cohabitation is a trial marriage and about 80% of first time marriages have been preceded by a period of cohabitation
cohabitation
chandler on cohabitation
argues that cohabitation is now chosen as a long term alternative to marriage; this is reflected in the growth of children born outside of marriage but are registered by both parents living at the same address
cohabitation
benjin on cohabitation
argues that young people choose cohabitation as they see it as a more equal relationship than a (patriarchal) marriage
cohabitation
reasons for cohabitation- changing role of women
Women are now more successful in education and this is beginning to be reflected in the labour market, as women seek to pursue their own career they are less willing to take on the demands associated with the housewife and mother role. Women’s growing financial independence and equality in cohabiting relationships means they have less need to get married.
cohabitation
reasons for cohabitation- changing social attitudes and reduced social stigma
Young people are more likely to cohabit than older couples, reflecting the more easy going attitudes to cohabitation.
cohabitation
reasons for increased cohabitation- growing secularisation
According to the 2001 Census, young people with no religious belief were more likely to cohabit.
cohabitation
reasons for increased cohabitation- rising divorce rate
Some sociologists suggest that this may deter couples from getting married, many opting to cohabit instead. However the high re-marriage rate is a direct criticism of the argument that people have become disenchanted with the institution of marriage.
cohabitisation
reasons for increased cohabitation- reducing risk (beck)
argues that we are now living in a risk society and we are especially being affected by the risk of divorce. He argues that many young couples now choose to cohabit as a way of avoiding the risk associated with the long-term legal commitment that marriage entails.
family types
extended family
Extended family refers to those family members who are outside the “nucleus”: aunts, uncles, cousins and grandparents, etc. Extended family households can be either:
Vertical. Multiple generations living together (e.g. grandparents and great grandparents. The vertical description relates to how it would appear on a family tree.
Horizontal.A household made up of aunts, uncles and cousins: the family extended horizontally across the same generation rather than vertically.
These household forms were uncommon in the 20th century, but had arguably been a feature of pre-industrial and early industrial households. However, life expectancy would suggest that at the time it would have been more likely to be horizontal extended families, whereas today – with an ageing population – the likelihood of vertical extended families has increased.
family types
beanpole family
Again, looking at how a family looks on a family tree can present us with a beanpole family: a vertical extended family with no (or few) “branches”. This is a multi-generational extended family, or vertical extended family, but is characterised by each generation having few siblings. Again, as the fertility rate has reduced, this becomes a more common family form. In earlier generations, grandparents and great grandparents might be expected to have several siblings, as large families was the norm.
family types
matrifocal lone parent family
he most common lone-parent family is the matrifocal one: that is one where the lone parent is the mother of the child/children. There are several reasons for this, such as women giving birth (and therefore being the present parent if they are not in a relationship) and courts tending to prefer mothers in child custody cases, following divorces.
New Right sociologists, such as Charles Murray criticise lone parent families suggesting that the lack of a male role model can cause deviant behaviour and socialise children with deviant values, leading to the creation of an underclass.
family types
reconstituted family
A reconstituted family is where two nuclear families that have split up merge (or blend) to form a new family (i.e. with step-parents and step-brothers or sisters). Because of both increased divorce and the decrease in marriage, there are many more reconstituted or blended families in the UK today than there were 100 years ago.
family types
same sex couples
there are really a number of different same-sex family structures, not just one. Same-sex couple implies a couple living without children (coupling describes this household structure for both heterosexual and homosexual couples) but there are also same-sex families where there are children (either naturally the children of one or other parent or adopted).
family types
living apart together
A living apart together family is where a couple choose not to cohabitate (or are not currently cohabitating). This accounts for approximately 10% of UK adults.
family types
empty nest family
This term refers to a household where there is a couple who had children but they have now left the family home. Because people are living longer, there are more empty nest households and they remain that way for longer.
family types
boomerang family
a growing trend has been for boomerang families where children who have left the family home have come back again! For example, this might occur with people graduating from university and then returning to the family home. The cost and scarcity of housing has made this more common.
childbearing
child bearing
The patterns of child-bearing have changed in Britain over the last hundred years or so. Families are getting smaller as the number of births has been dropping, women are having fewer children and delaying having them until they are older, if having them at all.
child bearing- theories persoectives
new right murray
Murray (1990) blames the generosity of the welfare state for the growth in lone parenthood. He argues that generous welfare benefits encourage women to have children they could not otherwise afford to support. The growth of lone parent families has been seen by the New Right as one of the major signs of decline of conventional family life and marriage.
Murray argues the overgenerous welfare state has created ‘perverse incentives’ (it rewards irresponsible behaviour, such as having children without being able to provide for them). The welfare state creates a ‘dependency culture’ in which people assume the state will support them and their families. ‘Teenage single parents’ in particular have been presented as a major social problem, which has created moral panics about lone parenthood in the media, even though in 2016, overall teenage pregnancy rates were the lowest since records began in 1969.
child bearing- theories persoectives
feminists
are highly critical of the New Right’s attacks on lone parents. She argues that concerns over lone parents and the welfare of children are an attempt to force women back into the traditional gender roles of the housewife and mother, all of which undermine the gender equality and independence of women in contemporary society.
lone parenthood
One of the biggest changes to the family has been the growth of the lone parent family – also known as an SPF. The percentage of lone parent families has tripled since 1971 and Britain has one of the highest proportions of lone parent families in Europe. There were 2.9 million lone parent families in 2019, which is 14.9% of families in the UK; London has the highest proportion (19.1%), while the South West of England (10.9%) has the lowest, nine out of 10 of them are matrifocal families (female centred).
globalisation- impact on changng family structures
black caribbean families and black african families have a higher proportion of lone parent families, statistics
In 2018 24% of black families were SPF compared with 10% of white families. Berthoud (2001) see this as connected to ‘modern individualism’ – choice, independence, quality of relationships.
impact of globalisation on family structures
larger households, ballard
Bangladeshi, Pakistani and Indian households tend to be larger. Ballard (1982) some of these households can contain three generations. One explanation for this difference is the higher value place on extended families in Asian cultures.
globalisation changing family structures
european migrants
tend to have higher rates of nuclear families and lower rates of divorce (higher rates of religiosity, on average). Furthermore many immigrants from Europe live in shared households temporarily. However European immigration has sharply declined since the Brexit referendum.
