Family patterns and Diversity

Question 1

Current number of record marriages compared to previously?

Answer 1

8,000 less in 2018 compared to 2017.

Question 2

What is the percentage iof recorded re-marriages in the UK?

Answer 2

4% of all weddings in 2019.

Question 3

What were the stats for cohabiting couples in 2019 in Britain according to the ONS?

Answer 3

It was the second largest family type with 3.5 million couples

Question 4

What does Stonewall say about same sex relationships?

Answer 4

Around 5-7% of adult population today have same sex relationships.

Question 5

What are the reasons for changes in changing patterns to marriage

Answer 5

• less pressure to marry and freedom to choose relationship they want
• secularisation as churches and amount of people being religious affect marriage
• increasing choice of cohabitation no longer leading to “shotgun wedding”
• more people scared of divorce due to higher divorce rates

Question 6

What does Wilkinson say about changing position of women and marriage?

Answer 6

Female attitudes towards to marriage and family have gone radical change/gender quake

Females no longer prioritise marriage and having children,
Educational opportunities and feminisation of economy resulted in women weighing up costs of marriage with befits of a career.

Question 7

What are some statistics of cohabiting couples?

Answer 7

The office of national statistics (ONS) reported in 2019

Cohabiting couples were second largest family type

3.5 million combating couples

Feel from 2015, 2019 (maybe cause of same sex marriage)

Question 8

What does chandler say about cohabitation

Answer 8

Chandler says, couples tend to see cohabitation as long term alternative to marriage

Reflected by increase in children born out of marriage as partners don’t feel pressure to get marriage before starting a family

Question 9

What is one stats about single person households?

Answer 9

Number of people living alone increased by 1/5 over last 20 years from 1999 to 2019

Question 10

What a reason for single person households?

Answer 10

Increased separation and divorce created more one person households especially among men under their 65

Decline in marriage and ppl marrying later

Stein argues people are opting for “creative singlehood” by choosing to live alone

Question 11

What did Duncan and Philips find about living apart together?

Answer 11

1 in 10 adults are living apart together

Majority believe a couple don’t need to live together to have a strong relationship and 20% saw it as ideal

While LAT is no longer seen as abnormal it doesn’t amount to rejection of traditional relationships

Question 12

What are some stats for childbearing?

Answer 12

In 2017 nearly 48% of all children were born oustide marriage, most were jointly registered by cohabiting parents

Most parents having children later at average age of 28.9

I’m 2020 half of women aged 30 are childless

Question 13

Which act made it easier to get a divorce?

Answer 13

Divorce reform act 1969, also introduced single ground for divorce which could be established by factors like

• adultery
• desertion for at least two years
• 5 year separation, if there no agreements to divorce

Question 14

What do the new right think of divorce

Answer 14

Rodger’s and Pryor argue children of divorce parents experience more poverty, poor housing, teen pregnancy and educational underachievement

See high divorce=lone parent female families and threat to society, worse for boys as grow up without disciplinary figure

Feminists would disagree tho (true)

Question 15

What would functionalists say about divorce

Answer 15

Fletcher says high divorce rates support idea marriage is valued in society

Divorce is also functional as allows ppl to leave unhappy marriage and replace it with functional marriage

However divorce shouldn’t get out of hand as it may threaten stability of nuclear family

Question 16

What would feminists say about divorce?

Answer 16

Increase in divorce rates is sign of women’s greater ability to leave bad marriages and is seen as way for them to exercise choice and independence

Bernard argues women feel dissatisfaction with patriarchal marriage so shows women are rejecting patriarchal oppression

Question 17

What do postmodernist say about divorce

Answer 17

See divorce as part of family fragmentation and allows individuals to excessive free will over their lives

Giddens suggest forgive can be liberating for individual and source of tension as allows for individual To reflect on own identify and place within society

Question 18

What did interactionists find about divorce

Answer 18

Morgan- Different meanings for different people

Mitchell and goody interview people about experiences with parental divorce and father leaving the home

One said “best day of her life” and other said “devastating”

Question 19

What do neo-functionalist say about the nuclear family

Answer 19

Chester agues there been increase in family diversity but it isn’t significant

Biggest shift has been from nuclear family to “neo-conventional family” which is still nuclear but is dual saner with joint conjugal roles

Question 20

What does Murray say about single parent families?

Answer 20

New right guy Murray says non-traditional families are to blame for social problems like crime, unemployment and dependency culture on benefits

Single parents the single most important social people of our time

Question 21

What percent of single parent families were there by 2019

Answer 21

14.9%

Question 22

What are rapoport and rapoport 5 types of family diversity in modern Britain

Answer 22

Critiswd -functionalist family view and said there 5 type of family:

• organisation diversity: different patterns of paid and domestic work like dual earners or conjugal roles
• cultural diversity: diff patterns based on religion or ethnicity
• social class diversity: diff patterns of conjugal roles based on class
• Life stage diversity: diff stages of life live in diff types of family structures
• Generational diversity: diff patterns based on generations

Question 23

What did the Swann report say about families

Answer 23

Asians achieve better results in school as they have tightly-knit family structure compared to black Caribbean.

Fewer single mothers of southern Asian origin than black Caribbean and increasing in white families

Question 24

What does the evidence suggest about black families?

Answer 24

Carribean families in UK tend to be matriarchal and when in nuclear families female seen as primary caregiver

2012 over half of families with children headed by black parents were like parent compared to only 1 in 9 Asian families

Mirza argues this is cause of high value black women place on independence

Question 25

What did Ballard say about south Asian families

Answer 25

They’re largely extended and if necessary modified extended

South Asian families more likely to have children compared to other ethnic groups

Question 26

What do functionalists say about extended families

Answer 26

Willmott argues family is now dispersed and extended

So families are geographically separated but remain in frequent contact

Question 27

What do postmodernists say about the fragmentation of family life?

Answer 27

cheal says we no longer live in predictable modern world witj nuclear family structures

Instead society entered new chaotic postmodernist stage, family structures now fragmented and diverse and individuals have greater choice in lifestyle and family arrangements

Question 28

What did postmodernist feminist say about postmodern families

Answer 28

Stacey says greater choice for women gives them ability to break out of patriarchal oppression and shape familu to their needs

She uses her own primary research of interviews of families in California, women were agents of change in family and many rejected traditional housewife role

They created new families like “divorce extended” where members like connected via divorce than marriage and are usally female like mothers in laws or man’s ex wife/new partner

Question 29

What does Giddens say about the individuation thesis?

Answer 29

Relationships based on sex and infancy and advent of feminism has allows for greater choice in marriage and is no longer defined by law or tradition

This allows for creation of “pure relationships” where relationships ship exists sometimes to meet needs of each partner

Greater choice in personal relationships means they will become less stable and can be ended by their party at any time

Question 30

What is Ulrich Becks risk society and the negotiated family?

Answer 30

Supports Giddens idea and says we live in risk society where tradition has less influence and we more aware of risks as we calculate risks and rewards of diff actions compared to previous generations where we had less choice

This better choice led to patriarchal family being undermined in 2 ways:

• greater gender equality. Women now expect equality in marriage and work
• greater individualism: actions based on calculations of self interest rather than obligation to others

Led to negotiated family which don’t conform to traditional norms and varies according to wishes of members which are decided by negotiation

Question 31

What % of of married couples get a divorce in 2020 Uk

Answer 31

42%