Family Diversity Flashcards
murdocks theory on family
family universal, anything other than nuclear= extensions or reductions
term: polygyny
a man who has more than one wife
term: polyandry
a woman with more than one husband
term: cohabitation
living with a partner but not being married to or in a civil partnership with them
Morgan: criticising cohabitation
refers to cohab as marriage-lite
claims evidence shows cohab couples less happy + less fulfilled , more likely be abusive
Murphy: criticising cohabitation
children whose parents live together but not married get worse results at school, higher risk of developing serious illness
term: GMR (General Marriage Rate)
number of men and women who get married in any given year per 1,000 men and women 16yr and over who are unmarried
trends of marriage in UK
- people marrying later
- social class divide in marriage
- ethic variations
- same sex marriage
- GMR in decline
reasons for decline in marriage
- social policies put off people
- secularisation
- change in attitude- make sure will be equal
- average cost
- more focused on career
- women don’t need to marry financially
- increasing divorce rates
- improvements in reproductive tech
- value marriage more as institution than past
2 alternatives to marriage
- cohabitation
- LATs
term: LATs
people in long term committed intimate relationship but don’t share home by choice
why are LAT’s growing?
- increasing divorce + seperation= less willing to commit
- children from prev relationships
- difficulty maintaining job in same area
- modern tech=closer links maintained
Morgan & Murphy criticisms
- cohabitation become more normal part of life course
- cohab delaying marriage as test of compatibility
- cohab regarded as trial run
- practical reasons for rise in cohab
reasons for increase in divorce
- changes in law
- growing secularisation
-changing social attitudes - privatised nuclear family more isolated
- reduced functions of family
increasing life expectancy - contraception
- rising expectations of marriage
- influence of feminism
term: modified extended family
a nuclear family which maintains strong kinship ties with extended relatives however they don’t live in the same household but communicate via technology
term: communes
people living in groups where share resources and accommodation
marriage: Beaujouan & Ni Bhrolchain
thinks cohabitation has become more normal & is delaying marriage seen as test of compatability ‘trial run’
term: divorce rate
number of divorces per 1000 marriages per year
reasons for divorce rate increasing
- changes in law (DRA 1969)
- growing secularisation
- change in social attitudes
- reduced functions of fam
- contraception
- increasing life expectancy
- privatised nuc fam more isolated
child- bearing: Whiting
2 child family remains most common and has done for 70 years
child-bearing: Hirsch
each child costs nearly £154K by time 18 years
term: child bearing
having children
term: child rearing
raising children
rappoports
these factors influence type of family an individual is likely to have: cohort,ethnicity, social class, life cycle, structural
regional diversity: Everslea & Bonnerjea
Where u live in UK affects family structure- geriatric wards, older declining industrial areas, newly declining industrial areas, sun belt, truly rural areas
why are gay families increasing
changes in law and attitudes
why are singlehood increasing
- less social stigma
- growing individualisation
- need for flexibility to move/travel for work
- decline in marriage
- rise in divorce & seperation
- LATs
social class: Kieran + Mueller
’ those from lower social classes more likely to experience marital breakdowns compared to those in higher classes ‘
term: privatised nuclear family
2 parents + children, isolated from extended relatives
more likely to be middle class families
term: modified extended family
extended relatives may still play important role but not within same household, maintain regular contact with extended relatives
more likely to be working class families
ethnicity: Berihoud + Berishan
- Pakistani families largest families due to lowest % of 1 person fams
- Bangladeshi highest fertility rate in each age category so biggest fam size
cultural: Carribbean culture
- high rates lone parenthood
- separation + divorce 2x high than for white ppl
- mixed partnership common
- few carribean men and women married to each other
cultural: south asian culture
- extended fam still patriarchal in structure
- old fashioned values- arranged marriages
- divorce rates low due to social disapproval
evaluation of cultural differences
- Barrow: mix of fam types exist
- Victor: older ppl in south asian communities in England uncertain if can rely on kids
- Chamberlain + Gouldbourne: african carribean female lone parent supported by wide kinship newtwork
