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A Level Sociology (Miss Corbett) - Year 1 > Families & Households - Family Diversity > Flashcards

Families & Households - Family Diversity Flashcards

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Sociology 101 flashcards
1
Q

What are the key points on family diversity?

A

There is more diversity in families & households over recent years due to increase in cohabitation
There is a debate in sociology over whether the nuclear family is being replaced

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2
Q

What are the different examples of diverse family forms?

A

Traditional nuclear family
Symmetrical families
Nuclear family with house husband
Extended family
Vertical & horizontal extended family
Beanpole family
Matrifocal lone parent family
Patrifocal lone parent family
Reconstituted family
Same-sex couples
Living apart together
Grandparenting
Singledom
Flat/housemates
Empty nest family
Boomerang family
Polygamy

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3
Q

What is the traditional nuclear family?

A

A married couple with their own children with clear segregated roles (man goes to work, wife looks after the house & domestic tasks)

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4
Q

What is a symmetrical family?

A

Women going out to work & men doing more housework

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5
Q

What is a nuclear family with a house husband?

A

A female adult is the breadwinner & the husband does most of the domestic tasks aka stay at home dad

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6
Q

What is an extended family?

A

Any family members who live with the nuclear family

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7
Q

What are the 2 branches of extended family?

A

Vertical & horizontal

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8
Q

What is a vertical extended family?

A

Multiple generations living together with the nuclear family (grandparents/great-grandparents)

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9
Q

What is a horizontal extended family?

A

A households made up of aunts/uncles/cousins that are all in the same generation that live with the nuclear family

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10
Q

What is the beanpole family?

A

A vertical extended family with no/few branches

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11
Q

What is the matrifocal lone parent family?

A

A family lead by a single mother

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12
Q

What is the patrifocal lone parent family?

A

A family lead by a single father

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13
Q

What is the most common type of lone parent family?

A

Matrifocal

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14
Q

What are the criticisms of the matrifocal lone parent families from the New Right?

A

There is a lack of a male role model which causes deviant behaviour leading to an underclass

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15
Q

What is a reconstituted family?

A

2 nuclear families that are split up and blend to form a new family (includes step-parents/brothers/sisters etc)

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16
Q

What is a same-sex couple family?

A

A same-sex couple living with/without children (through adoption/children or one)

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17
Q

What is living apart together?

A

A couple that choose not to cohabitate/not currently cohabitating (10% of UK adults)

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18
Q

What is a grandparenting family?

A

Children that are brought up by their grandparents rather than their parents

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19
Q

What is singledom?

A

People living on their own

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20
Q

What are flat/housemates?

A

Multiple occupancy or people who don’t know eachother prior to residency (e.g. uni students/some migrant workers)

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21
Q

What is an empty nest family?

A

A couple who had children but they have now left the family home

22
Q

What is a boomerang family?

A

Children who have left the family home but now come back again

23
Q

What is polygamy?

A

People who live than more than one spouse/partner (illegal in the UK but occurs in other countries)

24
Q

What are some statistics of family diversity? (ONS 2019)

A

Married/civil partner couples represent 2/3 of coupled families in the UK
2.9 million lone parent families (14.9% of families in the UK)
Scotland has the highest proportion of one person households (35%) while London has the lowest (23.9%)

25
Q

SOCIOLOGIST: What did Robert Chester say about family diversity?

A

The extent of family diversity is exaggerated in contemporary society
More people live in a family that is structured into a couple with children
Suggested through the life course most people inevitably end up in couples with children

26
Q

SOCIOLOGIST: What did Brannen et al say about beanpole families?

A

They are becoming the most dominant form of family due to an ageing population & parents are becoming increasingly involved in their adult children’s lives (economic/practical support), family trees have become longer & thinner -> smaller families with fewer siblings to rely upon

27
Q

What are the theoretical approaches to diversity?

A

New Right -> shown preference for traditional values (demonstrated in state policy)
Feminism -> support greater family diversity -> divorced provides women with greater choice & control of their lives
Postmodernists & personal life perspective -> explain families are social constructs of an individual choosing -> diverse

28
Q

What are some conclusions on family diversity?

A

ONS data supports Chester’s views
There has been greater diversity over recent years
The life cycle approach suggests we will be apart of a range of different families in our life time

29
Q

What are some rapports on family diversity?

A

Argued in the 1980s, families were becoming a more diverse institution (rather than conventional)
In wake of social change from the 1960s, different family types were changing
A range of secondary sources were used to established 5 types of diversity in family life

30
Q

How has organisational differences created family diversity?

A

Some families divide labour equally, others may have a main provider & a parent that stays home and others may rely on support & assistance of relatives/family or friends
Employment/marital status/ presence of biological parents or guardians may have an impact

31
Q

How has cultural differences created family diversity?

A

Mass migration post war has caused an increase in ethnic diversity
Families from minority ethnic backgrounds may have different family structures/support networks or organisation

32
Q

How has the life course created family diversity?

A

We don’t live in the same structure of families/households our whole lives -> dependent on which life stage we’re in and may be different in each one
E.g. students/elderly have different structures/organisation for their living arrangements

33
Q

What is a cohort of a family mean?

A

The intergenerational attitudes of different groups e.g. gen z & millenials

34
Q

How will the cohort of a family create family diversity?

A

Different cohorts have different values of family life e.g. older generations see more value in marriage & younger generations may avoid it all together

35
Q

What are some strengths or weaknesses of family diversity?

A

It is evident though the rise of different family types/growth of fictive families/rise in cohabitation/delayed marriage & changing practices of family life
Research conducted from existing research & other secondary sources is subjective but is backed up by further research
It is important as diversity has grown over the years following the research

36
Q

What do functionalists and the New Right say about modernism & family diversity?

A

They see modern society as having fairly fixed, clear-cut & a predictable structure
They argue the best family type is nuclear

37
Q

RECAP: What do Functionalists say about the family?

A

Structuralist & modernist approach to society
They believe the conventional nuclear family is the only ‘normal’ type of family (Murdock)
The nuclear family is universal/natural & based on fundamental, biological differences between men & women (instrumental & expressive role -> Parsons)
Family is seen as a cornerstone of society as it performs 2 irreducible functions & other family types are abnormal/deviant as they cannot perform them
Parsons -> there’s a ‘functional fit’ between the nuclear family & society’s needs

38
Q

Who is a key thinker for the New Right?

A

Charles Murray

39
Q

RECAP: What does the New Right say about the family & family diversity?

A

Have a conservative & antifeminist perspective & are firmly opposed to family diversity
The patriarchal nuclear family is the correct family type with a clear division of labour between husband & wife
The decline of the nuclear family & the growth of family diversity is the cause of many social problems
Lone parent families are unnatural & harmful & lone mothers burden the welfare state & can’t discipline properly
They disapprove of working mothers as caring for the family is the 1st priority
Marriage is essential for a stable environment & cohabitation & divorce create instability
Welfare & benefits discourage men from working & encourage a dependency culture

40
Q

What is the neo-conventional family?

A

A nuclear family but with a division of labour between the male and female (dual earner family)

41
Q

SOCIOLOGIST: What does Robert Chester say about the neo-conventional family & family diversity?

A

There has been increased family diversity but not as significant as it is made out to be -> the extent & importance is exaggerated
The nuclear family is still the most aspired
Due to our life cycle most people will be involved in a nuclear family at some point in life
The rapports -> 5 types of family diversity
- Organisational, cultural, social class, life-stage
generational diversity

42
Q

RECAP: What do postmodernists say about family diversity?

A

Family life is more diverse than before & its shape depends on active choices people make about how to live their lives

43
Q

SOCIOLOGIST: What does David Cheal say about postmodernism & family diversity?

A

Family structures are fragmented & individuals have more choice in lifestyles, personal relationships & family arrangements

44
Q

FEMINISM: What does Stacey say about feminism & family diversity?

A

Greater family diversity has benefited women & enables them to be freed from patriarchal oppression & shape the family to meet their needs

45
Q

What does the individualisation thesis say about family diversity?

A

Class, gender & family lost influence -> we are disembedded from traditional roles/structures which gives us freedom
‘Pure relationship’ is less stable & creates more family diversity
Negotiated family has replaced the patriarchal family, families vary according to the members -> less stable & more family diversity

46
Q

SOCIOLOGIST: What does Giddens say about the individualisation thesis & family diversity?

A

The ‘pure relationship’ is no longer held together by religion/social norms/tradition & exist purely to satisfy each person’s needs -> they are free to choose to enter/leave
Same sex relationships lead to way more democratic & equal relationships

47
Q

SOCIOLOGIST: What does Beck say about the individualisation thesis & family diversity?

A

A ‘risk society’ tradition has less of an influence & people have more choice -> we’re more aware of risks of different opinions
Family is a ‘zombie category’ -> appears to be dead but it’s dead in reality

48
Q

What does the personal life perspective say about family diversity?

A

Criticises Beck & Giddens
- choice is exaggerated
- it is wrong to see individuals as disembedded & free floating
- ignores the importance of structural factors e.g. class/gender

49
Q

What is the connectedness thesis?

A

An alternative thesis from the personal life perspective

50
Q

What does the connectedness thesis say about family diversity?

A

We’re social beings within a ‘web of connectedness’
We live within networks of existing relationships & interwoven personal history (parents who split who are still connected by their children)
There is an emphasis on the role of class & gender structures in which we are embedded

A Level Sociology (Miss Corbett) - Year 1 (31 decks)

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