Cohabitation And Marriage Flashcards
What are five main trends we can see in marriage
- annual no. of marriages declined after 1972
- decine in marrigae rates
- 32& involved a religious or church based ceremony in 2004 (51% 1991) taking place in a civil context instead
- same-sex civil partnerships was up 2% in 2010 compared with 2009
- There are ethnic variations in marriage
Explain further annual no. of marriages declined after 1972 as a trend in marriage
1972 highest no. of couples since WW2 married (480,000) - annual no. of marriages declined all time low in 2009 at only 232,443 couples (underestimated because of travel abroad)
Explain further a decline in marriage rates as a trend in marriage
in 1994 marriage rate was 11.4 but declined to 10.3 by 2004
female rate - 30.6 to 24.6 in 2004
male rate - 36.3 to 25 in 2004
define marriage rates
the number of people marrying per 1000 of the population ages 16 and over
explain further that there are ethnic variations in marriage as a trend in marriage
Berthoud(2000) 3/4 of Pakistani + Bangladeshi women are married by 25 compared with one 1/2 of white women
British-African Caribbeans are the group least likely to get married
Who looked at if marriage is in decline
New right commentators expressed concerns about the decline in marriage
Patricia Morgan argues marriage involves unique attachments and obligations that regulate peoples behaviour e.g. married men are more likely to be employed and earn more as they work harder
What supports Patricia Morgan
Office for National Statistics concludes that marriage is good for the health of couples + married people live lover than divorced
Who disagreed with Office for National Statistics
Murphy (2007) suggests that it could be bad relationships rather than divorce that makes people unhappy and hence ill
Other than a decline in marriage as a threat to the health of the nuclear family what eld do they see as a threat
increase in cohabitation
increase in divorce
increase in single-person households
decline in brith and fertility rates
Why is marriage on decline suggested by new right sociologists
- Decline in religious belief + practices leading to changing attitudes e.g. weakening of commitment
- Social/government policy has not done enough towards cohabitation
- Individualism - undermined women commitment to marriage + family life
- Smith(2000) - marriage creates unrealistic expectations about monogamy + faithfulness in a world characterised by sexual freedom
What is secularisation
Decline in religious belief + practices
New right fears what marriage statistics reveal are probably exaggerated - give 4 reasons why
- People are delaying marriage
- Most people still believe in marriage as a desirable life goal
- People still believe having children is best done in the context of marriage
- More than 40% of all marriages are remarriages showing they are still committed to the institution of marriage despite their negative experience
- Married couples are still the min type of partnership for men + women in 2005 7/10 families were headed by a married couple
Explain further people are delaying marriage as a reason why marriage statistics may be exaggerated
The majority of single people will marry at some point but later in life (maybe after cohabitation)
Average age for first time bride in 2010 = 33.6 and groom = 36.2. 1970 - bride = 21.7 groom = 27.2
Who goes against delaying marriage is not just the case
Wilson snd Smallwood (2007) suggests that rates of marriage in England and Wales have fallen for the cohorts of women born in each year between 1974 and 1986
Explain women attitudes towards marriage
Delaying - develop careers + financial freedom + enjoy independence
Genderquake - marriage is not their main goal
Education + feminisation of the economy - women weighing up costs of marriage against benefit of a career and economic independence so delaying
Bernard - marriage benefits men more - married women suffer worse physical and mental health - making some sick
What support is there for attitudes towards women
births to women aged 35 and 44 has increased
What are the trends in cohabitation
Rise in the no. of cohabiting couples
Risen from 11%M + 13%F to 24%+25%
2.1M 2001 to 2.9M 2010 but does not include same-sex
1/3 teenagers in 2007 are destined to cohabit rather than marry compared to 1/10 grandparents
By 2014 married couples could account for less than half of British families
Explain the counter argument for these trends
New right commentators claim cohabitation is less stable than marriage suggesting its going out of fashion
Institute for the Study of Civil society (2000) - cohabiting couples less likely to be happy + more likely to be abusive,unfaithful,stredded + depressed
New right sociologist - Morgan - cohabiting is a sign of symbolic decline in morality because it represents an increase in the number of sexual partners + partner change
‘Is cohabitation a threat to family life’ (7)
- Kiernan - cannot generalise
- increase may simply reflect changes in social and religious values
- changes in women position and attitudes
- not an alternative to marriage
- practical response
- temporary stage
Explain Kiernan - cannot generalise as an argument for ‘Is cohabitation a threat to family life’
it is difficult to generalise cohabiting couples because they may include people about to marry, who oppose marriage and those just testing their relationship
Explain increase may simply reflect changes in social and religious values as an argument for ‘Is cohabitation a threat to family life’
religious beliefs have declined (secularisation) and society has grown more liberal and so less prejudicial + discriminatory in attitudes and actions and so moral disapproval of cohabitation is no longer as powerful
Explain changes in women position and attitudes as an argument for ‘Is cohabitation a threat to family life’
women have more educational and employment opportunities and so are more likely to delay marriage and cohabitation may be the practical alternative while attempting to establish a career and good standard of living
Explain not an alternative to marriage as an argument for ‘Is cohabitation a threat to family life’
surveys indicate few people see cohabitation as an alternative to marriage and it is a test of compatibility and a dress rehearsal of marriage
Smart + Stevens - interviews 20 mothers+fathers finding that cohabitation was a test of commitment and their commitment was the same as married couples but believed it was easier to leave than marriage
Explain practical response as an argument for ‘Is cohabitation a threat to family life’
cohabitation may be a practical response to circumstances in that people live together whilst waiting for a divorce
also a practical cause is the cost which people may live together whilst saving up
Explain temporary phase as an argument for ‘Is cohabitation a threat to family life’
this lasts around 5-6 years and 60% of cohabitation couples eventually marry and usually sometime after their first child is born
