Family - Changing Family Patterns (2) Flashcards
Lone parent families
-Lone parent families make up 22% of all families with children.
-Over 90% of these families headed by mother
Number has increased due to divorce and separation increasing.
*linked to the decline in stigma attached to births outside marriage.
Lone parenthood, welfare state and poverty
New Right thinker Murray - sees growth of LPF as a result of over generous state providing benefits for unmarried mothers and children -> dependency culture
Critics of NR argue LPF’s more likely to be in poverty due to:
-Lone headed women generally earn less than men
-Lack of affordable childcare prevents women working (60% of them are unemployed)
Ethnic differences in family patterns
Black families
Black families have higher proportion of lone parent households
- 2012 over half of families headed by a black person with children were lone parent families COMPARED to 1/9 Asian families.
- high rate of black female headed lone parent -~~ >high rates of unemployment among black males -> less able to provide -> desertion or marital break down increases.
Ethnic differences in family patterns
Asian families
Bangladeshi, Pakistani and Indian households tend to be larger than those of other ethnic groups at 4.4. people per household compared to -> 2.4 for both black Caribbean and White British households.
-Extended family has important value in Asian families ->more support
Extended family today
Continues to exist today- 4 types of extended family
- Traditional WC communities
- South Asian communities
- Modified extended family
- Beanpole family
Extended family
Many people including WC and MC feel a sense of obligation to to help their wider extended kin - Bell(S) research found that both WC and MC had emotional bonds with kin and relied on them for support
- Middle class -more financial help from father to son.
- Working class -more frequent contact and domestic help.
