Families & Households - Family Diversity Flashcards
What are the key points on family diversity?
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
What are the different examples of diverse family forms?
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
What is the traditional nuclear family?
A married couple with their own children with clear segregated roles (man goes to work, wife looks after the house & domestic tasks)
What is a symmetrical family?
Women going out to work & men doing more housework
What is a nuclear family with a house husband?
A female adult is the breadwinner & the husband does most of the domestic tasks aka stay at home dad
What is an extended family?
Any family members who live with the nuclear family
What are the 2 branches of extended family?
Vertical & horizontal
What is a vertical extended family?
Multiple generations living together with the nuclear family (grandparents/great-grandparents)
What is a horizontal extended family?
A households made up of aunts/uncles/cousins that are all in the same generation that live with the nuclear family
What is the beanpole family?
A vertical extended family with no/few branches
What is the matrifocal lone parent family?
A family lead by a single mother
What is the patrifocal lone parent family?
A family lead by a single father
What is the most common type of lone parent family?
Matrifocal
What are the criticisms of the matrifocal lone parent families from the New Right?
There is a lack of a male role model which causes deviant behaviour leading to an underclass
What is a reconstituted family?
2 nuclear families that are split up and blend to form a new family (includes step-parents/brothers/sisters etc)
What is a same-sex couple family?
A same-sex couple living with/without children (through adoption/children or one)
What is living apart together?
A couple that choose not to cohabitate/not currently cohabitating (10% of UK adults)
What is a grandparenting family?
Children that are brought up by their grandparents rather than their parents
What is singledom?
People living on their own
What are flat/housemates?
Multiple occupancy or people who don’t know eachother prior to residency (e.g. uni students/some migrant workers)
What is an empty nest family?
A couple who had children but they have now left the family home
What is a boomerang family?
Children who have left the family home but now come back again
What is polygamy?
People who live than more than one spouse/partner (illegal in the UK but occurs in other countries)
What are some statistics of family diversity? (ONS 2019)
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%)
SOCIOLOGIST: What did Robert Chester say about family diversity?
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
SOCIOLOGIST: What did Brannen et al say about beanpole families?
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
What are the theoretical approaches to diversity?
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
What are some conclusions on family diversity?
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
What are some rapports on family diversity?
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
How has organisational differences created family diversity?
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
How has cultural differences created family diversity?
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
How has the life course created family diversity?
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
What is a cohort of a family mean?
The intergenerational attitudes of different groups e.g. gen z & millenials
How will the cohort of a family create family diversity?
Different cohorts have different values of family life e.g. older generations see more value in marriage & younger generations may avoid it all together
What are some strengths or weaknesses of family diversity?
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
What do functionalists and the New Right say about modernism & family diversity?
They see modern society as having fairly fixed, clear-cut & a predictable structure
They argue the best family type is nuclear
RECAP: What do Functionalists say about the family?
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
Who is a key thinker for the New Right?
Charles Murray
RECAP: What does the New Right say about the family & family diversity?
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
What is the neo-conventional family?
A nuclear family but with a division of labour between the male and female (dual earner family)
SOCIOLOGIST: What does Robert Chester say about the neo-conventional family & family diversity?
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
RECAP: What do postmodernists say about family diversity?
Family life is more diverse than before & its shape depends on active choices people make about how to live their lives
SOCIOLOGIST: What does David Cheal say about postmodernism & family diversity?
Family structures are fragmented & individuals have more choice in lifestyles, personal relationships & family arrangements
FEMINISM: What does Stacey say about feminism & family diversity?
Greater family diversity has benefited women & enables them to be freed from patriarchal oppression & shape the family to meet their needs
What does the individualisation thesis say about family diversity?
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
SOCIOLOGIST: What does Giddens say about the individualisation thesis & family diversity?
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
SOCIOLOGIST: What does Beck say about the individualisation thesis & family diversity?
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
What does the personal life perspective say about family diversity?
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
What is the connectedness thesis?
An alternative thesis from the personal life perspective
What does the connectedness thesis say about family diversity?
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
