Demographic Changes

Question 1

Define Demography

Answer 1

The sociological study of population trends which are dependant on birth, fertility, death and migration rates

Question 2

What is the main reasons for shifts in the UK population

Answer 2

Either an increase or a reduction in the number of Births

Question 3

Statistic on the UK birth rate

Answer 3

It has steeply declined

The number of live births per 1,000 of the population over a year - from 28 in 1900 to 11 in 2007

Question 4

Statistic on the Total Fertility rate (TFR)

Answer 4

Refers to the average number of children a women has in her lifetime

1900 the TFR was 3.5 compared to 1.94 in 2007

Question 5

Why has the TFR fell

Answer 5

As women’s attitudes towards family life changed as more of them entered higher education and as career opportunities became available.

Question 6

What does Wilkinson note that supports the fall in TFR and who’s survey supports this

Answer 6

She notes that having children became less of a priority for women in the 1980s and 1990s.

Sharpes survey of girls in the 1970s compared with girls in 1990 confirms this statement

Question 7

What did the availability of the pill coincide with

Answer 7

The feminisation of the economy and workforce

Question 8

How did the pill and the feminised workforce affect birth rates

Answer 8

Women started to marry and have children later in life. Consequently the age groups 35-40+ has had a large increase in fertility rates.

Question 9

Has there been fluctuations in birth rate and what are they

Answer 9

Yes
There have been ‘baby booms’, these followed the two World Wars and one in the late 1980s

Question 10

Since 2001, birth rate has ______ _______

Answer 10

Steadily increased

Question 11

What was the birth rate like in 2010 and why was this

Answer 11

The highest it has been for 37 years because of the immigration from Eastern Europe and Africa

Question 12

Statistic on births from mothers from overseas

Answer 12

Babies born to mothers from overseas accounted for 24% of all births in 2008 compared with 14% in 1998

Question 13

During the 20th what did the birth rates do

Answer 13

Fall steeply

Question 14

Explain the reason ‘better health’ had on birth rates in the 20th century

Answer 14

Better diet and nutrition, hygiene, housing and public health measures meant that most babies survived into adulthood. People therefore no longer needed to have lots of children to ensure that one or two survived into adulthood

Question 15

Explain the reason ‘better economic opportunities’ had on birth rates in the 20th century

Answer 15

Jobs for adults and introduction of the welfare state meant that children were no longer needed as economic assets or insurance for old age by working-class parents and so they chose to have fewer of them

Question 16

Explain the reason ‘improved living standards’ had on birth rates in the 20th century

Answer 16

So having children became more expensive and consequently married couples chose to limit the size of their families

Question 17

Explain the reason ‘contraceptive pill’ had on birth rates in the 20th century

Answer 17

From the 1970s the contraceptive pill became more widely available on the NHS. This gave women the power to control their own fertility.

Question 18

Have families got bigger or smaller over the past hundred years

Answer 18

Smaller

Question 19

How does family size now compare to the family size of victorians

Answer 19

The modern day nuclear family averages about two children compared to the Victorian family which averaged between five to six children

Question 20

In 2017 why did many women choose to be childless

Answer 20

They would prefer to pursue a career and a high standard of living. This led to an increase in child-free couples and single female households

Question 21

Are children now less likely to have siblings

Answer 21

Yes, children in 2014 are less likely to have siblings compared with children in 1964 because women are having fewer children at a much later age compared with their mothers and grandmothers

Question 22

Does the UK have an ageing population and what does this mean

Answer 22

Yes
Means that the average age of the population is increasing and that elderly people are beginning to outnumber younger people

Question 23

What is an ageing population caused by

Answer 23

Lower birth rates and increased life expectancy

Question 24

Statistic that shows that life expectancy has increased in the UK

Answer 24

In 1851 it was 40 years for males and 44 years for females.
However now, males and females born in 2004, the females can live to 81 years and males to 76

Question 25

What is the reason behind increasing life expectancy and decline of dear rates in the early 20th century

Answer 25

Introduction of public health measures, better housing and a rise in living standards

Question 26

Why did after World War 2 the death rate still decline and life expectancy rise

Answer 26

Because it led to the introduction of the NHS, in 1948, which initiated mass vaccination of children and increased the use of drugs such as antibiotics to treat illnesses.

Question 27

What other things improved after World War 2

Answer 27

The introduction of the welfare state, particularly sickness and disability benefits, better pensions, free school meals, care houses etc

Question 28

Are there problems associated with the ageing population

Answer 28

Yes

Question 29

Is there an increasing or decreasing age dependency ratio and what does this mean

Answer 29

Increasing age dependency ratio

This refers to the fact the number of elderly dependents in UK society outnumbers the number of workers whose taxes fund their pensions

Question 30

Is there an increase or decrease in public spending and what does this mean

Answer 30

Increase in public spending

Elderly people tend to be the main recipients of health care, social services and adult social care spending

Question 31

Are the elderly experiencing loneliness and isolation and what does this mean

Answer 31

Yes they are

Old age can be socially isolating and lonely. The elderly can grow dependant on extended kin, especially if their health deteriorates. This can result in pressures in their relatives

Question 32

Is the number of extended families growing as the ageing population increases

Answer 32

Yes

Children care for and support elderly relatives as their physical and mental health deteriorates. Elderly relatives may move into homes of their children because they may not have the economic resources to go into private residential care homes

Question 33

What do feminists argue about the ageing population

Answer 33

That caring for the elderly may increase domestic burden on women who take most of the responsibility for caring in families. Caring for extended kin may also result in financial hardship for the family because one partner may have to give up work to help look after the elderly full time

Question 34

Is there likely to be a growth in single person households and why

Answer 34

Yes with elderly women as they live longer than men

Question 35

Are there benefits associated with an ageing population

Answer 35

Yes

Question 36

What might an ageing population have on the affect on relationships between grandparents and grandchildren

Answer 36

There may be more qualitative and enriching contact between them. this may result in more positive experiences of socialisation as grandparents pass on life-lessons.

Question 37

What is some positive evidence on the elderly

Answer 37

They make a great contribution to society as workers, voluntary workers, consumers and grandparents

Question 38

What did Julia Brannen (2003) identify

Answer 38

A new type of family that she calls the ‘beanpole family’. This family has less aunts, uncles and cousins compared with previous generations.
It is also likely to include four generations because great-grandparents are more likely to be alive because of increased live expectancy

Question 39

What do beanpole families often include

Answer 39

A ‘sandwich generation’ made up of older middle-aged people, especially women who are caught between giving financial and practical help to their own adult children and taking responsibility for the care of their parents