Family Change Flashcards
What type of family structure is declining?
The traditional nuclear male breadwinner and female housewife family structure
What are two of the many possible reasons for the decline of the nuclear family?
- There is less well-paid male work in the economy
- Women have become more significant in the paid workplace and expect satisfying careers of their own
What is demography?
The study of population and population change
What are demographers interested in?
Patterns of social structure, which describe what is actually happening at the moment. They are also interested in predicting trends, which means that they look at the past and see how things are changing so they can make predictions about future population structures
The demography of the UK is changing quite dramatically and much of that change is linked to birth and death rates, but what are eight other changes that are taking place too?
- People are living for longer, and remaining healthy for longer too. This has resulted in increasing numbers of older people who have been widowed or never married, who live alone
- Women are generally choosing to have fewer children. The average number of children per family is below two. The average age of the mother when they have their first child tends to be much older, in 2013 average age was 30 according to Govt. figures. Many couples also now make deliberate choice to remain child-free. Approx. 20% of women will not have a child.
- Higher rates of divorce since 1950s, though marriage remains most common form of partnership between adults. Many people choose cohabitation instead of marriage, however
- Rise in blended families, cohabiting families, and the number of children who have spent their childhood in a single-parent household
- People can openly participate in same-sex families in the UK, so do not need to hide their sexuality
- People may be in long-term relationships or not, choosing to live alone no matter their relationship status. This is known as elective singlehood. It is estimated that approx. 20% of adults live alone, though many may be elderly widowed
- Adult children remain in the home for longer than in the past as a result of rising house prices, university fees and lack of work for younger people. Some adult children may move out and return, perhaps after a relationship breakdown, and they are known as boomerang children. Others never leave
- Migration is changing family patterns, so traditional nuclear and extended family patterns may be more typical of Asian heritage British families than of longer established populations
Explain the sociological debate surrounding intimacy versus social breakdown
Giles (2003) and Jamieson (1998) have said that statistical analysis of family forms and household structures all point to an increased diversity in the ways that people choose to live together.
- Many social commentators and politicians view this change in family life as threatening and negative, implying a breakdown in social relationships.
- The alternative view is that families are becoming more democratic and based on choices.
There is a further view, Crow (2002), which suggests that the amount of change is overstated, and that there has always been a variety of family types, but people were more discrete about things because in the past, alternative families were seen in a negative and critical light
What are four of the key issues that can be used in an attempt to explain family change in modern society?
- Changing norms and values
- Legal changes
- Economics
- Changing technology
What are some examples of the changes in norms and values in British society that have impacted family structures in the UK?
- Sex outside of marriage was once seen as an issue of huge shame for a family if discovered, so men and women would marry very quickly if a pregnancy occurred. Women who had children outside of marriage were treated very badly, and often had their forcibly removed for adoption
- However, in 2013 the Office for National Statistics reported that the percentage of children born to unmarried and never-married mothers in England and Wales was 47.5%, although many were in long-term relationships with the father, this figure in 1938 was below 5% of children.
- As the shame of birth outside of marriage receded, the number of single parents and cohabiting parents increased
What are some examples of legislation changes in recent years that have affected family life?
The introduction of civil partnerships in 2004 and then same-sex marriage in 2014
Barely a year has passed over the last 50 years without some legislative change affecting family life, from changes in taxation, to benefits rules or laws relating to marriage and divorce. However, an issue of debate remains amongst sociologists about family change and the law. What is it?
There is a debate amongst sociologists as to whether changes in the law have led to changing family values, or whether the law is simply following public opinion
How can courts have an influence on family life?
Through imposing decisions on parents to protect children (e.g. ordering two sister to be given MMR injections in 2013 against wishes of their mother; fines and even prison sentences for allowing children to take time off school or failing to send them at all)
What to debates about whether and when women should be allowed legal abortion suggest?
That additional shifts can be quick and affect public policy and laws
Explain how the loss of the single male breadwinner in a family has been caused by a fundamental shift in the nature of employment.
Macionis and Plummer estimate that in 1911, 45% of British workers were employed in manufacturing, and these would have mostly been men. Now, the major employer is the service sector, such as call centres, IT, retail and entertainment. The new jobs can be carried out by men or women as service sector relies on people skills, not physical strength.
- So as the jobs market for men has declined, fewer families are headed by a man who earns enough to be able to support a non-working wife and their children
What did Lewis point out about the increase in female employment in recent years and when?
Lewis (2012) has pointed out that there have been government and EU policies aimed at encouraging women, especially those with children, into the workforce.
How has the increase in female employment changed family life?
- Women can have more control over decisions about spending and do not need to remain in unsatisfactory relationships
However, women are delaying childbearing and having fewer children. Many of these children are reared by grandparents or through commercial child-minding. Thus, parent-child relationships have been affected
