Divorce

Question 1

divorce - changes in divorce statistics

Answer 1

27,000 - 1961
180,000 - 1993
13,000 - 2012

Question 2

divorce - what do divorce statistics not show?

Answer 2

people separated by not divorces
empty shell marriages
unhappy marriages before divorce was made easier
shows legal changes not marital instability

Question 3

divorce - changes in the law

Answer 3

divorce is easier/cheaper to get
19th century - obtained by rich men
the divorce law reform act (1969) - no longer had to prove infidelity
the family law act (1990) - regulates rights of spouses

Question 4

divorce - changing role of women

Answer 4

2/3 of divorce petitions are from women
feminists; women’s expectations risen, no longer accepts patriarchal traditional roles
marriage no longer financial necessity due to being financially independent from work or welfare benefits

Question 5

divorce - rising expectations of marriage

Answer 5

functionalist;
couples more likely to end a relationship which earlier generations would have tolerated
families split up to reform happier families the is beneficial for society

Question 6

divorce - growing secularisation

Answer 6

declining influence of religious beliefs = marriage less of a sacred/spiritual union, more of a personal/practical commitment
less than 1/3 of marriages involve religious ceremony

Question 7

divorce - changing social attitudes

Answer 7

postmodernist; growing individualisation means more freedom to make your own choices rather than constrained by traditional control of social norms
people less willing to stay with unsatisfactory partners due to teach for personally fulfilling relationship
divorcees experience less social disapproval & stigmatisation, more socially acceptable

Question 8

divorce - greater availability of effective contraception

Answer 8

more safer to have sex outside of marriage & with more than one person in marriage
exposes relationships to greater instability

Question 9

divorce - growth of the privatised nuclear family

Answer 9

less easy for partners to seek advice from relatives
increases demands/expectations from partners
less social control from extended kin to maintain marriage ties

Question 10

divorce - reduced functions of the family

Answer 10

marriage has become less of a practical necessity

few bonds linking marriage partners except love, companionship, personal compatibility

Question 11

divorce - increased life expectancy

Answer 11

gives more time for marriages to go wrong and divorces to occur