Families and Households

Question 1

Types of family

Answer 1

lone parent
nuclear
step/reconstituted
extended
beanpole
same sex
symmetrical
empty nest
boomerang
polygamous

Question 2

What is the New Right perspective?

Answer 2

Political way of thinking, in favour of traditional morals and values

Question 3

What does Charles Murray believe about the family?

Answer 3

• Traditional nuclear family is the best, but is under threat
• Non nuclear families raise delinquent children who make society worse

Question 4

Who are the underclass?

Answer 4

• A group in society who are welfare dependent and don’t teach their children proper norms and values
• Single parent families
• Those on benefits

Question 5

New Right perspective evaluation

Answer 5

+ 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- Postmodernists would argue that the N.R is outdated and no longer relevant in postmodern era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

Question 6

1949 Legal Aid and Advice Act

Answer 6

• Financial support for those who couldn’t afford a divorce

Question 7

1969 Divorce Reform Act

Answer 7

• Allowed for irreconcilable difference as a reason for divorce
• Allowed women to file for divorce without proof of adultery, abandonment or abuse

Question 8

1985 Matrimonial and Family Proceedings Act

Answer 8

• Reduced to time married from 3 to 1 years before divorce could be finalised

Question 9

1995

Answer 9

• Introduced the no fault divorce

Question 10

Trends in divorce

Answer 10

• 42% marriages end in divorce
• 34% marriages expected to end in divorce by the 20th anniversary

Question 11

Reasons for increases in divorce

Answer 11

• changes in the law
• secularisation
• changing social behaviour
• rising expectation of marriage
• postmodernist theories
• changing role of women
• rising life expectancy

Question 12

Impact of divorce on children

Answer 12

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

Question 13

March of progress view on childhood, why

Answer 13

Sees the position of children as improving significantly due to
- better diets
- better medical care
- more rights
- protected and cared for

Question 14

Conflict view on childhood, why

Answer 14

Sees inequalities among children in terms of opportunities and risks they face, many are unprotected and badly cared for

Question 15

Children’s Act 1989

Answer 15

Made children’s welfare of upmost importance

Question 16

Shulamith Firestone and John Holt (1974)

Answer 16

Argue that many things which are interpreted as care and protection are in fact just new forms of oppression and control

Question 17

Jenks (2005)

Answer 17

Children are continually regulated and restricted by laws which control behaviour in public places

Question 18

Parental Control

Answer 18

Child centredness does not mean children are equal to parents, nor are they always well cared for

Question 19

Unhappy children statistics

Answer 19

• 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

Question 20

Types of child abuse

Answer 20

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