Divorce Flashcards
Changing Patterns of Divorce
•Since the 1960s, there has been a great increase in the number of divorces in the UK.
•40% of all marriages will end in divorce
Reasons for the fall in divorce
There may be a slight fall in divorce since the divorce 1990s because people aren’t getting married in the first place, instead they much rather choose to cohabit.
Couples more likely to Divorce
•Those who marry young
•Those who have a child before they marry
•Those who cohabit before marriage
•A couple where both partners have been married before
Explanations for the increase in Divorce: Changes in the Law
•Equalising the grounds for divorce between the sexes
•Widening the grounds for divorce
•Making divorce cheaper
This lead to a sharp increase in divorce, especially with the widening of the grounds for divorce which had led to the divorce rate doubling.
Other solutions to the problem of an unhappy marriage
•Desertion: one partner leaves the other despite still being legally married
•Legal Separation: a court separates the financial and legal affairs, but they remain married
•”Empty Shell Marriage”: where the couple continue to remain under the same roof but remain married in name only.
Explanations for the increase in Divorce: Declining Stigma and Changing Attitudes
•Mitchell & Goody: an important change since the 1960s has been the rapid decline in stigma attached to divorce
•Couples become more willing to resort to divorce as a means of solving their marital problems
•Rather then being seen as shameful, its regarded as misfortunate instead
Explanations for the increase in Divorce: Secularisation
The influence of religious institutions are declining.
•The traditional opposition of the church to divorce carries less weight in society
Explanations for the increase in Divorce: Rising Expectations of Marriage
•Fletcher (1966): 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
•Strong belief that if love dies, there is no longer any justification to stay married
•In the past, marriages were dictated by the family, contracted for economic reasons or out of duty
•Allan & Crow (2001): love, personal commitment and intrinsic satisfaction are the cornerstones of marriage
•Functionalists believe that though there is a high rate of divorce, there is still a high rate in re-marriage, so it’s not marriage they are unsatisfied with, but rather their partner
•Feminists argue that the oppression of women in the family is the main reason for conflict, thus meaning divorce is preferable.
Explanations for the increase in Divorce: Women’s increased Financial Independence
•Women today are much more likely to be in paid work, 53% in 1972 to 67% in 2013
•Equal pay laws have narrowed the pay gap
•Girls now overachieve in education
•Welfare benefits allow women to stop being financially dependent on their husbands
•Allan & Crow: marriage is less embedded into the economic system
Explanations for the increase in Divorce: Feminist Explanations
•Hochschild (1997): for many women, the home compares unfavourably with work. At work, women are valued for their work and effort while at home men refuse to do housework, causing frustration.
•Sigle-Rushton (ESTC 2007): mothers who have a dual burden are more likely to divorce compared to non-working mothers since.
:( Cooke & Gash (2010): found no evidence that working women are more likely to divorce because working is now the norm for women
•Bernard (1976): many women feel a growing dissatisfaction with patriarchal marriage.
Explanations for the increase in Divorce: Modernity and Individualisation
•Beck (1992) and Giddens (1992): in modern society, traditional norms such as the duty to remain with one partner for life, lose their hold over individuals
-> this means that people have become free to pursue their own personal interests
•Giddens believes that people seek out the “pure relationship” which exists solely to satisfy each partner’s need and not out of duty or tradition
•Women are expected to work alongside men and fulfil their career ambitions
Meaning of a high Divorce Rate: New Right
They view the high divorce rate to be undesirable since it undermines marriage and the traditional nuclear family which is vital for social stability.
Ultimately, an underclass (Murray) emerges where typically female lone-parents become burdens on the state and live primarily on government benefits
Meaning of a high Divorce Rate: Feminists
They see the high divorce rate as desirable since it means women are no longer bound by the restraints of marriage and the patriarchy
Meaning of a high Divorce Rate: Post-modernists and the Individualisation thesis
High divorce rates show that people are now able to pick-and-mix their family so that it meets their needs.
Meaning of a high Divorce Rate: Functionalists
The high divorce rates aren’t a great threat to marriage as an institution since there are still high rates of remarriages, showing that people aren’t necessarily frustrated by marriage, but rather by their partners
