Changing patterns of family life Flashcards
What is cohabitation?
Long alternative to marriage
can be a temporary and informal arrangement
It offers a stable committed relationship without the legal commitment
Functionalists argue this is a trial of marriage
How does a change in social attitudes lead to a decline in marriage?
There is less pressure to get married as it is socially acceptable not to get married
Most couples will cohabit
Postmodernists argue individualism leading to the decline in marriage
More people have freedom of choice
How does secularisation lead to a decline in marriage?
Religious influence has decreased
fewer couples get married as they no longer have to marry for religious reasons
only 25
5 of marriages involve a religious ceremony.
Link fear of divorce to decline in marriage?
Fewer couples choose to marry as they feel that it will end up in divorce
42% of marriages end in divorce
Beck argues we live in a risky society
marriage is no longer a permanent commitment but instead is based on confluent love
If the person’s needs arent being merpeople will consider a divorce
Changes in the position of women
Most women have careers making them independent
Women no longer feel the need to marry for financial reasons.
Some women choose not to marry and focus on their careers instead
Radical feminists argue that marriage remains patriarchal
Women are less willing to take on roles that would lead to a triple-shift
Ad they belive this would trap them in their home
Expectations of marriage
Marxists argue that due to captalism marraige has become a business
They are advertised on social media portraying unrealistic expectations of a wedding
Leading to false needs so couples who think they cannot achieve this level of wedding costs will not get married.
What are divorce statistics
1900 - 1 divorce for every 450 marriages
In 2024 42% of all marriages end in divorce
divorce rate
men - 46
women - 44
62% of divorces are requested by women
how do changes in law link to divorce rates
Made it much easier and cheaper to get a divorce
gives men and women equal rights in divorce
The Divorce Reform Act widened the grounds of divorce
Feminists argue that divorce law allows women to be freed from patriarchy,
What are evaluations for these laws
New right argues that it is now too easy to get a divorce. so families are no longer as committed to their relationship
high divorce rates threaten the nuclear family
changing social attitudes and divorce
Divorce is now socially acceptable
Divorce has become normalized as some people even have divorce parties
Postmodernists say this is due to an individual having freedom of choice
Religion and divorce
religion has less influence on people lives
Religious beliefs stated that divorce was s sin but this now has less impact on society
People now see marriage as a practical commitment that can be abandoned if it fails
Some religious leaders have relaxed their attitude toward divorce
secularisation eval for divorce
There is a debate about the extent of secularization in the UK.
Some parts of the UK are still highly religious so it may not explain the increase in the divorce rate
High expectations of marriage and divorce
People now expect more out of a marriage, for example, unconditional love
Higher expectations lead to couples becoming less willing to be in unhappy marriages
Functionalists argue that high divorce rates
are because people demand more out of a marriage
so divorce rates do not indicate the value of marriage but the standards that people place on their marriages.
Changing in the position of women linked to divorce
Women become independent when they have careers
Will no longer stay in unhappy marriages as they can financially support themselves
Feminists argue that women often suffer from a dual burden in marriages
women’s independence means they can file for divorce and no longer suffer from a dual burden
Privatisation of the family and divorce
Modern isolated nuclear families have few ties with extended family
So they have fewer people to rely on for support when marital problems arise
Functionalists belive that family has lost some of its functions which leads to a focus on emotion.
What are consequences for change in family types?What do the new right argues is the consequence of rising divorce rates.
New right argues it has negative impact on the children
children of divorced parents are more likely to suffer from behavioural problems and under achieve at school
What are 3 types of family structures that are results of divorce?
More single parent families
More reconstituted families
More one person households
