Families and Households Flashcards
Types of family
lone parent
nuclear
step/reconstituted
extended
beanpole
same sex
symmetrical
empty nest
boomerang
polygamous
What is the New Right perspective?
Political way of thinking, in favour of traditional morals and values
What does Charles Murray believe about the family?
- Traditional nuclear family is the best, but is under threat
- Non nuclear families raise delinquent children who make society worse
Who are the underclass?
- A group in society who are welfare dependent and don’t teach their children proper norms and values
- Single parent families
- Those on benefits
New Right perspective evaluation
+ Functionalists argue that the nuclear family is the best family type for raiding children
- Nuclear families aren’t always the best family
- Marxists argue the theory is trying to maintain capitalist oppression by keeping the proletariat poor
- Postmodernists would argue that the N.R is outdated and no longer relevant in postmodern era
- taking away benefits punishes the most vulnerable in society according to social democratic theorists
1949 Legal Aid and Advice Act
- Financial support for those who couldn’t afford a divorce
1969 Divorce Reform Act
- Allowed for irreconcilable difference as a reason for divorce
- Allowed women to file for divorce without proof of adultery, abandonment or abuse
1985 Matrimonial and Family Proceedings Act
- Reduced to time married from 3 to 1 years before divorce could be finalised
1995
- Introduced the no fault divorce
Trends in divorce
- 42% marriages end in divorce
- 34% marriages expected to end in divorce by the 20th anniversary
Reasons for increases in divorce
- changes in the law
- secularisation
- changing social behaviour
- rising expectation of marriage
- postmodernist theories
- changing role of women
- rising life expectancy
Impact of divorce on children
Rogers and Pryor (1998)
- divorce is only 1 factor in causing problems for children
Hetherington (2002)
- for 75% of children, divorce has few negative effects
Jon Bernardes (1997)
- divorce is less damaging than a negative marriage
March of progress view on childhood, why
Sees the position of children as improving significantly due to
- better diets
- better medical care
- more rights
- protected and cared for
Conflict view on childhood, why
Sees inequalities among children in terms of opportunities and risks they face, many are unprotected and badly cared for
Children’s Act 1989
Made children’s welfare of upmost importance
Shulamith Firestone and John Holt (1974)
Argue that many things which are interpreted as care and protection are in fact just new forms of oppression and control
Jenks (2005)
Children are continually regulated and restricted by laws which control behaviour in public places
Parental Control
Child centredness does not mean children are equal to parents, nor are they always well cared for
Unhappy children statistics
- 10% of british children develop a mental health problem
- 3.7m children classified as living in poverty
- Rees (2011) - every year around 100,000 children under 16 run away in the UK
- Each year around 75,000 school age children enter the youth justice system
Types of child abuse
Sexual - adults using their power to perform sexual acts with children below the age of consent (16)
Physical - includes all non-sexual violence
Emotional - includes persistent or severe emotional ill treatment or rejection of children which has severe effects on their emotional development
Neglect - failure to protect children from danger including cold and starvation or failing to care for them properly so that their health or development is affected
