FAMILY: marriage, divorce and changing patterns

Question 1

define divorce

Answer 1

The legal termination of a marriage

Question 2

define divorce rate

Answer 2

The number of divorces per thousand married people

Question 3

Since when has there been a great increase in the divorce rate?

Answer 3

1960s

Question 4

What trend appeared in the divorce rate between 1961 and 1969?

Answer 4

The number of divorces doubled

Question 5

When did the divorce rate begin to fall again?

Answer 5

2005

Question 6

Statistically how many marriages will result in divorce?

Answer 6

40%

Question 7

Statistic about children and divorces parents

Answer 7

by the age of 16 1/4 of children will have divorced parents

Question 8

What is meant by an empty shell marriage?

Answer 8

The couple live together and remain legally married but their marriage only exists in name. Love, sex & companionship no longer exists.

Question 9

What is meant by desertion?

Answer 9

One partner leaves the other but the couple remain legally married.

Question 10

3 types of marriages that are most at risk from divorce

why?

Answer 10

Those who marry young - have to make the marriage work for longer.
Those who have children before marriage - may only marry because of the children
Those who cohabit before marriage - religious people are less likely to cohabit before marriage and are less likely to divorce

Question 11

When and what was the Matrimonial Causes Act?

Answer 11

1857
Set up a new court for people to be able to obtain a divorce.
The grounds for divorce included adultery, cruelty and desertion.
Women could not petition for a divorce.
At least one of the partners had to be proven guilty of one the ‘matrimonial offences’

Question 12

When and what was the Legal Aid and Advice Act?

Answer 12

1949
Provided free legal advice and paid solicitor’s fees fir those who couldn’t afford them.
Therefore divorce became more accessible to more people.

Question 13

When and what was the Divorce Reform Act?

Answer 13

1971
People could petition for a divorce on the grounds of ‘irretrievable breakdown’.
People no longer had to prove guilt they had to simply show their marriage was beyond repair.

Question 14

When and what was the Matrimonial Family Proceedings Act?

Answer 14

1984

Reduced the time a couple had to be married before they petitioned for a divorce from 3 years to 1 year.

Question 15

What caused an increase in divorce in 1984?

Answer 15

The matrimonial family proceedings act

Question 16

What was the divorce figure in 1993?

Answer 16

171,000 divorces

the highest recorded up to date

Question 17

At present how many divorce petitions come from women?

Answer 17

70%

Question 18

What did Fletcher & Parsons (functionalists) conclude about expectations of love and marriage?

Answer 18

Since the 1950s it has been argued that the number of changes have occurred in people’s expectations of marriage.
This has lead to increasingly unstable relationships.

Question 19

What did Fletcher (functionalist) conclude about expectations of love and marriage?

Answer 19

The higher divorce rate shows that people value marriage more and do not reject the institution of marriage.
High expectations of marriage means that people try to find the perfect relationship.

Question 20

What did Giddens conclude about expectations of love and marriage?

Answer 20

A trend towards ‘confluent love’ has emerged.
Today marriage is no longer based up duty and obligation. People focus on intimacy, love, closeness and emotion.
Relationships based on confluent love only last as long as both partners find satisfaction and fulfilment.

Question 21

What has caused people to increasingly value confluent love?

Answer 21

Media

Creates an illusion of perfect relationships which therefore results in insecurities.

Question 22

How have changing social values had an impact on divorce rates?

Answer 22

Divorce became more socially acceptable throughout the 20th century.
Couples are less likely to stay together to avoid stigma formally attached to divorce.

Question 23

What did Cockett & Tripp conclude about changing social values and divorce?

Answer 23

The normalisation of divorce has made divorce more acceptable as a means of dealing with failed marriage.

Question 24

How may secularisation contributed to divorce rates?

Answer 24

Religious institutions are losing their influence on society. People no longer tend to make decisions e.g. divorce based on religious teachings.

Question 25

How might the economic position of women contributed to the increasing divorce rate?

Answer 25

Women are more economically independent.

They no longer rely on men for financial support so leaving a marriage is much easier.

Question 26

What did Kurz conclude about the economic position of women and divorce?

Answer 26

Women have been trapped in unhappy marriages because they cannot financially support themselves/their children if they left.
Unless women are economically independent then their divorce opportunities are severely restricted.

Question 27

Why might the New Right be critical of the state offering welfare benefits to lone parents?

Answer 27

Incentivises divorce

Question 28

What did Crow conclude about money and divorce?

Answer 28

Spouses are no longer economically interdependent.

Each has their own source of income. This makes divorce easier and the couple are more willing to seek divorce.

Question 29

What did Hochschild conclude about women and divorce?

Answer 29

The home compares unfavourably with work.
In the work place women feel valued. In the home marriage is made less stable by men resisting to do housework which builds up frustration.
Also as both partners go out to work this leaves less time and energy for emotion work.

Question 30

What did Sigle-Rushton conclude about women and divorce?

Answer 30

Working mothers are more likely to divorce than women in relationships of traditional labour division.
However when the man is actively involved in housework the likelihood of divorce falls to the same level of couples with a traditional division of labour.

Question 31

In Richard Adams’ article about divorce what was uncovered about social media and divorce?

Answer 31

Social media is becoming more involved in divorce proceedings.
2/3 of lawyers interviewed said that Facebook was the primary source of evidence in divorce proceedings.

Question 32

What do the New Right believe about the high divorce rate?

Answer 32

It is undesirable because it undermines the traditional unclear family.
Divorce creates an ‘underclass’ of welfare dependent female lone parents.
Boys are left without the role model they need.

Question 33

What do Feminists believe about the high divorce rate?

Answer 33

It is desirable as it shows women are breaking free from the oppression of the patriarchal nuclear family

Question 34

What did Jessie Bernard (feminist) conclude about high divorce rates?

Answer 34

Women feel a growing dissatisfaction with patriarchal marriage.
Most petitions are now filed by women showing more women are now prepared to reject male domination in the family.

Question 35

What do Post-modernists believe about the high divorce rate?

Answer 35

High divorce rate shows how people now have more independence.
People can now choose to end a relationship if it doesn’t meet their needs.
This has also lead to a greater diversity of family types.

Question 36

What do Functionalists believe about the high divorce rate?

Answer 36

A high divorce rate does not mean that marriage as an institution is under threat. It is simply the result of people’s higher expectations.
There is a high rate of re-marriage shows people’s continuing commitment to the idea of marriage.

Question 37

What do interactionists believe about the high divorce rate?

Answer 37

We cannot generalise the meaning of divorce as everyone’s experience and interpretation is different.