Ethnic diversity

Question 1

Household patterns in different ethnic groups

Answer 1

White (British and other white) - 20% one person households, 25% couples with no children, 29% couples with dependent children
Indian - 12% one person, 15% couple with no children, 21% couples with dependent children
Black Caribbean - 31% one person, 8% couples with no children, 57% couples with dependent children

Question 2

Black and Asian families - Roger Ballard (1982/1990)

Answer 2

South Asian families:
- compared with south Asians living in Britain to those in SA:
-found that South Asian families are based around a man, his son, and grandsons, and their wives and daughters
-Found they work and live together - multi-generational households
CHANGES IN BRITIAN
- Women then worked outside the home, small units of family, extended family decreased. Married couples expected independence
HOWEVER - SA families attach standards of family honour as a result of changes, experience 2 cultures, can adopt to wider society while maintaining key elements of own culture. Retained links with village of origin, sent money to support them

Question 3

Black and Asian families - Ghazala Bhatri (1999)

Answer 3

Asian children at home:
- Continuing emphasis on loyalty, traditional marriage remained
-Trips to home village to provide support

-Father remains breadwinner, mother’s role in family
-Dad as head of household
Conflict existed between generations, but not the norm

Question 4

Black and Asian families - Barrow (1982)

Answer 4

Families in West Indies:

3 main family types in Caribbean:
1. Conventional nuclear family (religious/wealthy families)
2. Common law family - less economically successful
3. Mother household - mother/grandmother is head of household (matrifocal/matriarchal single parent household)
ONLY WHEN NO ADULT MALES
Mother-centred families rarely rely on extended kin for support, but on informal care networks

Question 5

Black and Asian families - PSI National Study (1997)

Answer 5

British - south Asians more likely to marry earlier, separation/divorce rare.

Question 6

Black and Asian families - Geoffrey Driver (1982)

Answer 6

West Indian families in Britain:
Similar patters to British white families, what can appear to be a nuclear family can be a matrifocal family

Question 7

Black and Asian families - conclusion

Answer 7

Immigrants and descendants have adapted to British life, but not completely lost their own culture
Ethnic groups have maintained culture, contributing to diversity of family types in Britain