Changing Patterns Of Divorce, Marriage, Cohabitation, Separation, Partnerships & Childbearing

Question 1

divorce

marrage breakdown 1- divorce

Answer 1

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.

Question 2

divorce

marriage breakdown 2- seperation

Answer 2

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.

Question 3

divorce

marriage breakdown 3- empty shell marriages

Answer 3

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.

Question 4

divorce

why are divorce statistics not so reliable

Answer 4

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

Question 5

divorce

divorce reform act 1969

Answer 5

marrage seen as an irreversable breakdown

Question 6

divorce

family law act 1996

Answer 6

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.

Question 7

divorce

matrimonial and family proceedings 1984

Answer 7

can divorce after only one year

Question 8

divorce

2019 new divorce dissolution and seperation law

Answer 8

removed partners having to blame eachother

Question 9

divorce- explanations for reasons for divorce

changes in law

Answer 9

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.

Question 10

divorce- explanations for increases in law

decline in stigma and social attitudes

Answer 10

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.

Question 11

divorce- explanations for increasing divorce

secularisation

Answer 11

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.

Question 12

divorce- explanations for increased divorce

rising expectations of marriage

Answer 12

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.

Question 13

divorce-explanations for increasing divorce

changes in the position of women

Answer 13

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

Question 14

divorce- theories view on divorce

functionalists, fletcher

Answer 14

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.

Question 15

divorce- theories view on divorce

new right

Answer 15

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.

Question 16

divorce- theories view on divorce

liberal femenists

Answer 16

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.

Question 17

divorce- theories view on divorce

interactionists

Answer 17

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.

Question 18

divorce- theories view on divorce

postmodernists

Answer 18

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.

Question 19

marriage

marriage stats

Answer 19

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

Question 20

cohabitation

the meaning of cohabitation

Answer 20

*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

Question 21

cohabitation

chandler on cohabitation

Answer 21

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

Question 22

cohabitation

benjin on cohabitation

Answer 22

argues that young people choose cohabitation as they see it as a more equal relationship than a (patriarchal) marriage

Question 23

cohabitation

reasons for cohabitation- changing role of women

Answer 23

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.

Question 24

cohabitation

reasons for cohabitation- changing social attitudes and reduced social stigma

Answer 24

Young people are more likely to cohabit than older couples, reflecting the more easy going attitudes to cohabitation.

Question 25

cohabitation

reasons for increased cohabitation- growing secularisation

Answer 25

According to the 2001 Census, young people with no religious belief were more likely to cohabit.

Question 26

cohabitation

reasons for increased cohabitation- rising divorce rate

Answer 26

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.

Question 27

cohabitisation

reasons for increased cohabitation- reducing risk (beck)

Answer 27

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.

Question 28

family types

extended family

Answer 28

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.

Question 29

family types

beanpole family

Answer 29

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.

Question 30

family types

matrifocal lone parent family

Answer 30

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.

Question 31

family types

reconstituted family

Answer 31

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.

Question 32

family types

same sex couples

Answer 32

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).

Question 33

family types

living apart together

Answer 33

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.

Question 34

family types

empty nest family

Answer 34

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.

Question 35

family types

boomerang family

Answer 35

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.

Question 36

childbearing

child bearing

Answer 36

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.

Question 37

child bearing- theories persoectives

new right murray

Answer 37

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.

Question 38

child bearing- theories persoectives

feminists

Answer 38

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.

Question 39

lone parenthood

Answer 39

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).

Question 40

globalisation- impact on changng family structures

black caribbean families and black african families have a higher proportion of lone parent families, statistics

Answer 40

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.

Question 41

impact of globalisation on family structures

larger households, ballard

Answer 41

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.

Question 42

globalisation changing family structures

european migrants

Answer 42

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.