Families & Households - Demographic Changes In The Family Flashcards
What is demography?
The study of characteristics of human populations e.g size, structure & how these change overtime
What is birth rate?
The number of live births per 1000 of the population per year
What is death rate?
The number of deaths per 1000 per year
What is infant mortality?
The number of deaths of babies in their 1st year per 1000 of the population per year
What is life expectancy?
An average of how long people can be expected to live from birth
What is total fertility rate?
The number of live births per 1000 women per year of child bearing age
What is Migration?
The movement of people
What are the 2 types of migration?
Immigration
Emigration
What is Immigration?
The number of people entering a country
What is Emigration?
The number of people leaving a country
What is an Ageing population?
The average age of the population getting higher -> the greater proportion of people over retirement age
What are the possible causes of population growth?
Natural growth -> more births than deaths (25% of all births born to UK mothers) + high net migration (26000 in 2014)
How has death rates changed over time?
Declined overall
1900 -> 19 per 1000
2012 -> 8.9 per 1000
2021 -> (increased due to Covid)
How has infant mortality rate changed over time?
Fallen overall:
1900 -> 154 per 1000
2012 -> 4 per 1000
2021 -> 3.5 per 1000
How has life expectancy changed over time?
Increased overall:
1900 -> M(50yrs), W(57yrs)
2023 -> M(79yrs), W(83yrs)
What are some of the reasons for declining death & infant mortality rate & increased life expectancy?
Better healthcare
Use of contraceptives
Better hygiene
Safe & healthier working conditions
Medical advances
Improved education
How has hygiene, sanitation & medicine improved overtime?
Construction of a public sewer system
Clean running water
Increased knowledge of hygiene & causes of infection
Advances in medicine & technology -> e.g. transplants
Modern day causes of death are self inflicted e.g. smoking & non infectious disease e.g. cancer
How have living standards improved over time?
Higher wages, better food & housing conditions & improvements to housing appliances -> higher life expectancy
Improved public transport & wider range of nutritious food
SOCIOLOGIST: What did McKeown say about better food?
Better food and nutrition has increased the resistance to infection
SOCIOLOGIST: What did Harper say about smoking & diet?
Greatest drop in death rates result from reduction in people smoking
21st century -> obesity replaced smoking as a lifestyle epidemic (25% of all UK adults obese (2012)) however deaths from obesity have been kept low as a result of drug therapies
How has public health & welfare changed over time?
State intervention has increased -> A wide range of benefits available for a wide range of people e.g. pensions, single parent benefits
Introduction of the NHS -> much better post & antenatal healthcare for babies
How has health education changed over time?
There has been a growing awareness of nutrition & importance of health
Media reports e.g. swine flu (2010), salmonella
The National Institute of Clinical Excellence -> aims to provide national guidance on the benefits of exercise & balanced diet etc
How has working conditions changed overtime?
Advances in technology, e.g. safer factory equipment, has reduced health risks that people in the 19th century experienced
Shorter working hours, leisure time, earlier retirement age means work is less physically damaging
What are the implications of increased life expectancy & a decline in death & infant mortality rate?
An ageing population
How has the UK’s ageing population risen since 1971?
1971 -> 34.1 yrs
2013 -> 40.3 yrs
Estimation: 2037 -> 42.8yrs
What are the effects of an ageing population of family structures & individuals?
Increase in 1 person pensioner households (mostly women) - 12.5% of all households
‘Feminisation of later life’ - 2x women than men over the age of 75
Increase of elderly relatives potentially helping financially & with childcare (middle class)
Increase of elderly living on small pensions & savings means they need to be supported by younger relatives (financially & with care)
What are sone negative effects of an ageing population on family structures & households?
Chances for work promotions can fall (if an elderly family member needs care)
Emotional stress on the family
Increase in older cares e.g. 65yr olds caring for their 95yr old parents
Increase in the dependency ratio (decline in dependent children)
What are the impacts of an ageing population on childhood?
Closer relationships
Children can learn more history
Increase of funding & government policies centred towards older age groups e.g. the NHS
Changes to family structures e.g. extended/beanpole
Older parents
How does an ageing population have an effect on ageism?
Ageism increases
Ageism is a result of structured dependency -> excluding old people from paid work leaving them dependent
SOCIOLOGIST: What does Phillipson say about ageism?
The elderly are no use to capitalism anymore so the state don’t want to support them
What is the effect of old age on postmodernity?
The fixed & orderly stages of the life course become blurred (children dressing like adults, later marriages etc.)
There is a growing market of ‘body maintenance’ & ‘rejuvenation’ goods e.g. cosmetic surgery, anti-ageing products
SOCIOLOGIST: What did Hunt say about postmodernity & old age?
We can choose our lifestyle & identity regardless of age
What are some criticisms on the view of postmodernity & old age?
Postmodernists underestimate importance of inequalities according to class & gender
Older people face discrimination that can limit their choices -> age concern (2004), more than 29% reported suffering age discrimination than any other form
What are some policy implications due to an ageing population?
HIRSCH -> argues a number of policies need to change to support the ageing population e.g. encouraging older people to ‘trade down’ into smaller accommodation or changing the age of retirement (old age is socially constructed)
How has birth rate changed overtime?
Declining overall in England & Wales
1900 -> 28.7
2014 -> 12.2
How has total fertility rates changed overtime?
Declining:
1870s -> 6 children (avg.)
1964 -> 2.95 children (avg.)
2001 -> 1.63 children (avg.)
2014 -> 1.83 children (avg.)
How has fertility rates changed from the 1970s to modern day?
Most women had their 1st child in their mid 20s in the 1970s whereas today the average age a women will have their 1st child is 30 years old
More women are remaining childless today than in the past
How has changes in women’s position caused birth & fertility rates to fall?
Legal equality -> right to work, the sex discrimination act 1975
More women are in paid employment
Women have better educational opportunities.
Easier legal activities to divorce & easier access to contraceptives
SOCIOLOGIST: What did Harper say about changes in women’s position that has caused a decline in birth & fertility rates?
Education is the most important factor as women are more likley to use family planning & see other possibilities than the traditional housewife role.
Means smaller families are now the norm and larger ones are seen as deviant & less acceptable
How has declining infant mortality rate caused birth & fertility rates to fall?
1900 -> 154/1000 babies born per year (began to fall due to similar reasons as a decline in death rate)
1950s -> 30/1000 babies born per year (result of mass immunisations)
2012 -> 4/1000 babies born per year
How has a more child centred society caused birth & fertility rates to fall?
1900 -> children were an economic asset to their parents
2010 -> children are an economic liability & dependent on their parents due to compulsory education (until 18)
19th-21st has seen a shift from ‘quantity’ to ‘quality’ parenting
How have changes in fertility affected the structure of families & households?
There are more smaller families, women are free to work so there are more dual earner couples
Increase in lonelier children (less siblings however they’re more valued)
Decrease in public services - fewer school & child health care services (however the government might just reduce class sizes instead of the number of schools)
How has immigration changed over time?
1900 -> after ww2 the largest immigrant group was the Irish, eastern & Central European jews (refugees) & Canadians & Americans from British descent (very few immigrants were non-white)
1950s-> black Caribbean & 1960/70s -> south Asians (India & East African Asians)
What is the consequence of increased immigration?
A more ethnically diverse society so there is now a greater diversity for family patterns
What policies were put in place between 1962 & 1990 and what was their purpose?
A series of immigration & nationality acts were passed and they placed severe restrictions on non-white immigration
Was net emigration higher or lower from the mid 16th century to the 1980s?
Net emigration was high -> more people left than came to settle
What is an economic push factor for emigration?
An economic recession/unemployment
What is an economic pull factor for emigration?
Higher wages/better opportunities abroad
Why might other people migrate from the country?
Religious reasons
How has migration has an impact on the uk’s population structure?
The population size is continually growing.
2019 -> 270000 (decreased from a peak of 331000 (2015))
The net migration of EU citizens decreased from 133000 to 49000 after brexit
Natural increase -> more births than deaths (majority are non-uk mothers) - if not for net migration the population would shrink
How has the age structure of the UK changed due to migration?
Migration lowers the average age of the population directly & indirectly
Directly -> immigrants are generally younger ( 2019 65+ 19% Uk, 11% migrants, 26-64 48% Uk, 70% migrants)
Indirectly -> younger means they are more fertile so they have more children
What are the 3 effect of the dependency ratio?
Immigrants are more likely to be working age which decreases the dependency ratio & older migrants usually return to their country to retire
As more immigrants are younger, they have more children which increases the dependency but overtime their children will join the labour force so the dependency ratio decreases
The longer a group is settled in the UK, the close the fertility rate is to the national average which reduces the overall impact of the dependency ratio.
What is globalisation?
Barriers between societies disappearing & people becoming increasingly interconnected across national boundaries
What causes globalisation?
Growth of communication systems & global media
Creation of global markets
Fall of communism in Eastern Europe
Expansion of EU (increased international migration
What are the different trends in global migration?
Acceleration & differentiation
What is acceleration of global migration?
Speeding up the rate of migration
What is differentiation of global migration?
Many different types of migrant
What are the different types of migrant & what differentiates them?
Permanent settlers, temporary workers, spouses & forced migrants (e.g. refugees)
Some have legal entitlement while others dont (globalisation increases the diversity of migrant)
What was immigration to the UK made up of before the 1990s?
A narrow range of former British colonies -> had the right to settle & formed concentrated & homogenous ethnic communities
How has globalisation changed since the 1990s?
Globalisation has led to ‘super diversity’ (Vertovec) & migrants come from a wider range of countries
Individuals may also be divided by culture/religion & be widely dispersed throughout the UK
SOCIOLOGIST: What are the 3 class differences between migrants?
Citizens -> have full citizenship rights e.g. voting -> Since 1970s the UK state has made this difficult for immigrants
Denizens -> privileged foreign nationals welcomed by the state (e.g. highly paid employees of multinational companies)
Helots (Slaves) -> most exploited groups & regarded as ‘disposable units of labour power’ -> found in unskilled, poorly paid work & included illegally trafficked workers & domestic servants
How has migration changed in terms of gender?
In the past, most migrants were men but now almost 1/2 are female
What do most women find themselves in when they migrate?
They’re fitted into patriarchal stereotypes about women’s roles as carers/providers of sexual services
What do most women find themselves in when they migrate?
They’re fitted into patriarchal stereotypes about women’s roles as carers/providers of sexual services
SOCIOLOGIST: What did Ehrenreich & Hochschild observe in about care/domestic or sex work in western countries?
It is mostly completed by women from poorer countries
What does an increase of poorer women completing care/domestic or sex work result in?
Expansion of services occupations in western countries -> increases demand for female labour
Western women joined labour force & less willing to perform domestic labour
Western men remain unwilling to perform domestic labour
Failure of the state to provide adequate childcare
Global transfer of women’s emotional labour -> nannies
Migrant women entering western countries as ‘mail order’ brides/illegal trafficked sex workers (reflects gendered & racialised stereotypes
The resulting gap is then partly filled by women by poorer countries
What identities may migrants develop when they migrate?
Hybrid identities -> their identity of their country of origin & the country which they migrate to (add additional source of identity)
May find others challenge their identity & accuse the of not ‘fitting in’
SOCIOLOGIST: What did Thomas Hylland Eriksen say about transnational identities?
Globalisation created more diverse migration patterns (back & forth movements rather than permanent settlements) -> means migrants are less likely to see themselves belonging to 1 culture so they develop transnational identities
Modern tech makes sustaining global ties without travel possible so migrants in a globalised world are less likely to desire assimilation into the host culture
What has immigration policies been linked to?
National security & anti-terrorism policies
How does assimilation link to 1st state policy?
Immigrants are encouraged to adopt the language, values & customs of the host culture to make them ‘like us’
SOCIOLOGIST: What does Ericksen say about assimilation into the host culture?
It is a problem for migrants with migrant identities
What is multiculturalism?
It accepts migrants may wish to retain a separate cultural identity however acceptance may be limited to more superficial aspects of diversity
What are the two types of diversity according to multiculturalism?
Shallow diversity
Deep diversity
What is an example of shallow diversity in immigration policy?
Foods e.g. chicken tikka masala (acceptable to the state)
What is an example of deep diversity according to immigration policy?
Arranged marriage/veiling of women (not acceptable)
What is a criticism about multiculturalism?
Argue multurcultural education policies celebrate shallow diversity & are failing to address deeper problems facing children e.g. racism
SOCIOLOGIST: What does Castles criticise assimilationist policies on?
Argue assimilationist policies are counterproductive as they mark minority groups as others which increases hosts’ suspicion as an enemy which breeds further marginisation
Assimilationist policies encourage workers to blame migrants for social problems e.g. unemployment -> racist scapegoating -> benefits capitalism and creates racially divided working class & prevents united actions in defence of their interests
