Demographics - TYPES OF HOUSEHOLDS

Question 1

ELDERLY

What age range is considered to be elderly?

Answer 1

65+

Question 2

ELDERLY

What age range is ‘young elderly’?
Describe them.

Answer 2

65 - 80

Likely to be more healthy & lead active, independent lifestyles.

Question 3

ELDERLY

What age range is ‘elderly-elderly’?
Describe them

Answer 3

80+

Likely experience chronic illness or disability & dependent on others.

Question 4

ELDERLY
ELDERLY COUPLES HOUSEHOLDS

What percentage of the elderly population live in households with their partner?

Answer 4

56.8%

Question 5

ELDERLY
ELDERLY COUPLE HOUSEHOLDS

What happens when 1 partner falls ill?

Answer 5

The other is likely to become the primary carer.

Question 6

ELDERLY
ELDERLY COUPLE HOUSEHOLDS

How many of the elderly are essentially carers for their spouses?
Who is it most likely to be?

Answer 6

2011 Consensus - 1.3 million

The wife

Question 7

ELDERLY
ELDERLY ONE-PERSON HOUSEHOLDS

What percentage of one-person households are composed of the elderly?

Answer 7

47%

Question 8

ELDERLY
ELDERLY ONE-PERSON HOUSEHOLDS

Of the 47% of one-person households that are composed of the elderly, what percentage is made up of lone women?

Answer 8

68%

Question 9

ELDERLY
ELDERLY ONE-PERSON HOUSEHOLDS

How many widows are there in the UK compared to widowers?

Answer 9

2013 - 1.7 million widows, 3x the number of widowers.

Question 10

ELDERLY
ELDERLY ONE-PERSON HOUSEHOLDS

Which single-person households are most likely to be dependent on support from family members?

Answer 10

Elderly

Question 11

ELDERLY
ELDERLY ONE-PERSON HOUSEHOLDS

Why does Chambers believe family support for single-person households may not be available to elderly people in the future?
(3)

Answer 11

High levels of geographical mobility - elderly relatives are far from extended family members.

Some women choose not to have children - there will be no next generation to support them in old age.

Same sex couples are less likely to have children.

Question 12

ELDERLY
EXTENDED FAMILIES

Why does Wall believe the extended family household is in decline?

Answer 12

Economic pressure - they may not have the resources to pay for private residential care homes.

Question 13

ELDERLY
EXTENDED FAMILIES

How is it evident that the extended family household, with children caring for their aged parents, is experiencing a revival?

Answer 13

Children may feel obliged to take in parents to avoid feelings of isolation & loneliness, as well as eliminating the risks of living alone at old age.

Question 14

ELDERLY
EXTENDED FAMILIES

How did extended family households differ between ethnic groups?

Answer 14

2011 Consensus - 42% of Asian men & 68% of Asian women aged 85+ lived in extended family households, compared to 12% of white men & 19% of white women of the same age.

Question 15

ELDERLY
EXTENDED FAMILIES

Why may feminists be concerned about families caring for elderly parents?

Answer 15

Daughters are more likely to take responsibility for caring for older parents - 2011 Consensus found 58% of elderly carers are women.

Could lead to disproportionate economic finances & female carers being economically dependent on men.

Question 16

ELDERLY - EXTENDED FAMILIES
Interactionists may be concerned about families caring for elderly parents as it may alter quality of familial relationships and/or parent-child relationships.
Expand on this.

Answer 16

Familial - female careers may be emotionally affected, undermining marriages by feeling resentment for giving up a career.

Parent-child - as their health deteriorates, grandchildren may feel relationship change as parent’s have to put a grandparent first.

Question 17

ELDERLY
BEANPOLE FAMILIES

According to who, what are beanpole families?

Answer 17

Brannen

A 4 generational family

Question 18

ELDERLY
BEANPOLE FAMILIES

What are beanpole families less likely to experience? Why?

Answer 18

Horizontal intergenerational ties - in the last 20 years, families had less children so children today have less relatives than previously.

Question 19

ELDERLY
BEANPOLE FAMILIES

Who is the ‘pivot’ generation?

Answer 19

People whose parents are alive but also have grandchildren (40 - 60 years old typically)

Question 20

ELDERLY
BEANPOLE FAMILIES

What is the name given to people whose parents are alive but also have grandchildren (40 - 60 years old typically)?

Answer 20

The ‘pivot’ generation

Question 21

ELDERLY
BEANPOLE FAMILIES

What is one of the difficulties that the ‘pivot’ generation experiences?

Answer 21

They constantly need to provide for the elderly members of their families as well as the younger members.

Question 22

ELDERLY
BEANPOLE FAMILIES

What percentage of people in their fifties and sixties are responsible for looking after an elderly parent and grandchildren?

Answer 22

10% for both, 20% for just an elderly parent.

Question 23

ELDERLY
GRANDPARENTS

What percentage of the nation’s grandparents look after their grandchildren for an average of 10 hours a week?

How much does this save in childcare costs annually?

Answer 23

47% of the nation’s grandparents over 50 (5.8 million people)

£11 billion

Question 24

ELDERLY
ECONOMIC CONSEQUENCES OF AN AGEING POPULATION

Where does the money for pensions come from?

Answer 24

Taxes of the workforce

Question 25

ELDERLY ECONOMIC CONSEQUENCES OF AN AGEING POPULATION What does an ageing population create?

Answer 25

A 'burden of dependency' as there will be more elderly dependents in the future but less workers to care for them.

Question 26

ELDERLY ECONOMIC CONSEQUENCES OF AN AGEING POPULATION What government problems will the ageing population create in the future?

Answer 26

A greater tax burden on a shrinking workforce to pay for the pensions of a fast-growing number of future elderly people.

Question 27

ELDERLY How much of the UK's GDP is spent on providing pensions?

Answer 27

8%

Question 28

ONE-PARENT FAMILIES Give evidence to show the growing number of one-parent households.

Answer 28

1961 = 2% 2012 = 25%

Question 29

ONE-PARENT FAMILIES How many single parent families are headed by women? What year?

Answer 29

9% in 2012

Question 30

ONE-PARENT FAMILIES Give 3 reasons as to why women might find themselves single parents.

Answer 30

Widowed Separated Choice

Question 31

ONE-PARENT FAMILIES How many single parent families are headed by teenagers? What year?

Answer 31

2% in 2012

Question 32

ONE-PARENT FAMILIES | Why do NEW RIGHT sociologists claim there are more single mothers? 2

Answer 32

They're more attracted to lone motherhood by the 'perverse incentive' of claiming welfare benefits. In 2013, 650,000 single mothers weren't in work & dependent on welfare support.

Question 33

ONE-PARENT FAMILIES Why do FEMINIST sociologist claim there are more single mothers because?

Answer 33

More women are confident that they can be/are financially secure without the support of men.

Question 34

ONE-PARENT FAMILIES - New Right | What are children brought up in one parent families more likely to experience? According to what report? 5

Answer 34

The Centre for Social Justice report 'Fractured Families' (2013) ``` Grow up in poorer housing Experience behavioural problems Less educational qualifications More depressive symptoms Higher levels of smoking, drinking & drugs ```

Question 35

ONE-PARENT FAMILIES - New Right | What did Flouri and Buchanan (2002) find? 4

Answer 35

Studied 17,000 children from families that had experienced separation & divorce. The removal of a father from families leads to children: Gaining fewer educational qualifications Being more likely to be homeless. Getting in trouble with police Having less stable romantic relationships later in life.

Question 36

ONE-PARENT FAMILIES - New Right - CRITIQUE What are critiques of the New Right approach? (3)

Answer 36

Divorces can reduce the likelihood of a child having emotional/behavioural problems. Many single mothers experience poverty & material hardship despite state benefits & try to protect their kids from poverty by spending less on themselves. Part of the reason children from one-parent families are more likely to face difficulties is due to issues in wider society, eg negative labelling from social workers, producing a self-fulfilling prophecy.