Family Trends and Patterns Flashcards

1
Q

What are some reasons for the decline in marriage?

AO1

A
  • Changing attitudes: there are more acceptable alternative living arrangements e.g. cohabitation. We now have greater choice in living arrangements and relationship status
  • Secularisation: marriage is no longer seen as sacred - only 18.7% of marriages are religious (as of 2019). Wilson found that church attendance was at an all time low of 5% in 2015
  • Decline in stigma: in 1989 70% of people believed couples who want children should get married, this was only 42% by 2012
  • Changes in the position of women: women are more career orientated rather than focusing on starting families e.g. Sharpe’s ‘Just Like a Girl’ study
  • Fear of divorce: people have lost faith in the institution of marriage - marriage is no longer permanent due to the accessibility of divorce e.g. Beck - ‘Risk Society’
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2
Q

How can we analyse the causes for changes in marriage patterns?

AO3

A

RELEVANT:
- 42% of marriages in the UK end in divorce
- Policies like the Equality Act and Gender Pay Act encourage women in the workplace over in the home
- Cohabitation is on the rise

NOT RELEVANT:
- Islam is the fastest growing religion - secularisation is not widespread
- Decline in stigma is not true for all groups - many ethnicities and religions still prioritise marriage without divorce e.g. South Asian

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3
Q

What are some reasons for the increase in reconstituted families?

AO1

A
  • Changes in attitudes
  • Female independence
  • Secularisation - marriage is no longer seen as sacred
  • Rising divorce rates - natural byproduct of higher amounts of divorcees
  • Fletcher: rising notion of romantic love - people are more willing to enter and leave relationships in search for their true love
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4
Q

What do Ferri and Smith say about reconstituted families?

(potential issues of living in a reconstituted family pt1)

AO1

A
  • Step families are very similar to first families in terms of structure e.g. childcare support practices
  • Reconstituted families are more likely to experience poverty - may be due to costly divorce or having to finance 2 families
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5
Q

What did Allan and Crow say about reconstituted families?

(potential issues of living in a reconstituted family pt2)

AO1

A

Reconstituted families face more conflict and problems - may be due to conflicting parenting styles or habitus

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6
Q

How can we evaluate issues of living in a reconstituted family?

AO3

A

Ribbens and McCarthy et al: there is diversity amongst reconstituted families - they are not a monolith and the various types of reconstituted families should be acknowledged

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7
Q

What are some reasons for the changes in patterns of childbearing?

AO1

A
  • Changing position of women: women are now more career orientated and won’t have kids if they feel like it would hinder their career progression e.g. Sharpe’s Just Like a Girl study found that girl’s priorities and aspirations have shifted
  • Children are an economic liability whereas in the past they were an economic asset as they could work. Hirsch estimated that each child costs nearly £154,000 for parents until the age of 18
  • Changes in attitudes: we are now in a child centric society - people value stability and being able to provide their child with a good environment before having kids.
  • Beck and Gernshein - there is growing individualisation - people won’t have kids if it’s not to their benefit
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8
Q

How can we analyse the reasons for changes in childbearing patterns?

AO3

A
  • 72% of women work now
  • Current cost of living crisis - children are now more of an economic liability than ever
  • Hakim - voluntary childlessness support growing individualisation
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9
Q

What is divorce?

A

The legal dissolution of a marriage contract by court

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10
Q

What changes in law have impacted divorce?

AO1

A
  • Equalising grounds 1923 - wives now had equal grounds of divorce on which they could apply for
  • 1949 Legal Aid made divorce cheaper and so more accessible as it would be paid for by the state
  • 1969 Divorce Reform Act - allowed divorce on the grounds of irretrievable breakdown
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11
Q

What are the reasons for the rise in divorce rate?

AO1

A
  • Changing attitudes: divorce is more normalised as seen as a viable option Mitchell and Goody claim that there has been a decline in stigma since the 1960s
  • Secularisation: people don’t see it as a sin anymore as they don’t follow a religion - Wilson found that church attendance is only at 5%
  • Fletcher: rising expectations of marriage - people are less willing to tolerate unhappy marriage - romantic love is prioritised so if the love dies then so does the marriage
  • Hochschild - women are aware of the triple shift and are fustrated by it and so are more likely to divorce
  • Beck and Giddens: individualisation thesis - traditional values have declined as people are now free to pursue self interest - now seek pure relationships instead of staying in unhappy ones
  • Women’s increased financial independence - women are more likely to be in paid work - 53% in 1971 to 72% in 2022
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12
Q

How can we analyse the causes for increased divorce rate?

AO3

A
  • Still heavily stigmatised in some cultures and religions
  • Modern churches have softened their stance on divorce - religious people get them too so secularisation is not the cause
  • Allan and Crow support Fletcher as they argue that love is now the cornerstone of marriage
  • Dennie also supports Fletcher claiming that western style marriages are vulnerable as they are only held together by emotional ties
  • Bernard supports Hochschild as he found that 65% of divorces are petioned for by women
  • Individualisation thesis is not relevant to all cultures e.g. arranged marriages are still used
  • Laws like Equal Pay Act and Equality Act make women being financially dependent more relevant
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13
Q

According to Gibson, what are the consequences of divorce?

(lone parent)

AO1

A

Divorce is associated with single parenthood.
1. Economic strain - divorce is expensive, now have to support children on single income
2. Lack of socialisation - typically leaves a female lone parent - lack of male role model for sons increases likelihood of criminality
3. Emotional trauma -no contact with one parent can make it harder to cope, entering a step family can cause more problems to arise
4. Loss of childhood

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14
Q

How can we analyse Gibson?

AO3

A

In line with the New Right’s view of broken families breeding a welfare reliant underclass that enage in deviance

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15
Q

How can we evaluate negative consequences of divorce?

AO3

A
  • Feminists - allows women to be liberated from abusive relationships
  • Morgan - divorce means different things to different people
  • Smart - divorce has become normalised and family life can adapt to it
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16
Q

What is cohabitation?

A

When a couple live together in one household but are not legally married

17
Q

What are the 3 main reasons why people cohabit?

AO1

A
  1. Temporary and informal arrangement: spending a lot of time together and sharing accommodation but seen as a casual relationship
  2. Alternative to marriage: long term stable and committed partnership but without legal committments or the patriarchal dimensions associated with marriage
  3. Trial marriage: trial run before marriage to test the relationship - 80% of marriages are preceeded by cohabitation
18
Q

What are the reasons for the increase in cohabitation?

AO2

A
  • Changes in attitudes: in 1989 only 44% of people agreed that premarital sex is not wrong, this was the majority view (65%) in 2012
  • Generational difference: younger people are more risk conscious as divorce is more of a possibility
  • Female independence: women no longer have to marry a man to be financially supported, women also want more control over their finances
  • Secularisation: people don’t see it as a sin anymore to be in a relationship and have kids with someone you are not married to. Wilson found that church attendance is only at 5%
19
Q

How can we analyse the reasons for the increase in cohabitation?

AO3

A
  • Being in a relationship with and starting with a family you’re not married to is now normalised by the media e.g. BBC show ‘Marrying Mum and Dad’
  • Divorce rates have increased
  • Laws like Equal Pay Act and Equality Act make women being financially dependent relevant
  • Christianity is not the only religion, Islam is the fastest growing and cohabitation is still forbidden
20
Q

What is a strength of cohabitation according to Bejin?

AO3

A
  • Rise in cohabitating couples amoungst youth represents a more conscious effort in their relationship
  • Cohabitation over marriage allows people to negotiate their roles - found that cohabitating couples were less patriarchal than conventional households
21
Q

What is a strength of cohabitation for Shelton and John?

AO3

A

Women who live in cohabiting households do less housework than those who are married - less patriarchal

22
Q

How could we analyse Shelton and John and Bejin?

AO3

A

Not relevant to all cultures e.g. South Asian couples are still likely to have patriarchal conjugal roles

23
Q

What is an advantage of cohabitation to Barlow and Duncan?

AO3

A
  • Many cohabit as it is too expensive to have the ‘ideal’, lavish marriage promoted today
  • Many cohabit to delay marriage in order to save money for dream wedding
24
Q

What evidence suggests that cohabitation is not an alternative to marriage?

AO3

A
  • Chester: cohabitation is just an early stage of marriage - has become part of the process rather than an alternative
  • Coast: 75% of cohabitating couples say they expect to marry each other
  • Cohabitating couples don’t have the same rights as married couples e.g. inherit nothing if partner dies
25
What is a LAT relationship?
A long term, committed, intimate relationship where individuals define themselves as a couple but **do not share a common home**
26
According to Levin what are the reasons for the increase of LAT relationships? ## Footnote AO1
1. **Technology** - can still keep in touch despite not physically being together 2. Changes in the **labour market** - one partner may move away for work 3. May be a way of dealing with a broken relationship - take time apart from each other 4. Responsibility in care 5. **Growing individualisation** - people do what is in their best interests rather than them as a couple 6. **Reducing risk** - rather than uproot entire life one partner can leave and decide how the whole family would fair in this new location
27
What is a disadvantage of cohabitation according to Morgan? | (New Right) ## Footnote AO3
- Cohabitating couples are often **less happy** due to the **unstable** nature of their relationship e.g. infidelity is more common - This creates **more stress**
28
What is a disadvantage of cohabitation according to Murphy? | (New Right) ## Footnote AO3
- Children of cohabitating couples **perform worse** in school - lower results and are more likely to leave school early - Higher rates of **illness** - Likely because more likely to be in **poverty**
29
What is a disadvantage of cohabitation according to Manning? | (New Right) ## Footnote AO3
- Cohabitating families cause **instability** - Children are more likely to see relationship break down which has immediate and long term effects
30
How do Benson's findings support Manning? ## Footnote AO3
- Married couples are more likely to be in a stable and secure marriage - Studied **15,000** babies until age of **3 years old** and found rate of **family breakdown** by this point was **20%** for cohabitating families compared to only **6%** for married couples
31
What are the impacts of family breakdown?
For the child: **new living arrangements**, emotional impact - many children feel **guilty** as though they are the cause for their parents' breakup, more likely to be in poverty with a single parent For the parents: now have to balance **childcare and work**, emotional impact, more likely to be in **poverty**
32
What are the causes for the rise in lone parent families? ## Footnote AO1
Since the 1970s, lone parent families have **tripled** in number and now account for **14.7%** of all families with dependent children: - **Changes in law**: e.g. Divorce Reform Act, Embryology Act - **Changes in attitudes**: fewer shotgun marriages, secularisation - no longer seen as a serious sin (44% VS 65%) - **Welfare State**: gives women who aren't financially secure a safety net if they need to divorce. **Cashmore** - WC women are now more likely to leave partner due to abuse - **Female independence**: women are now no longer afraid to raise child by themselves. **Haskey**: women are now single by choice. **Renvoize**: professional women are able to support child without father's support. **40%** of lone parents are never married mothers - **Fletcher**: higher expectations of marriage - **ideology of romantic love** - people are more willing to leave unhappy relationships in search of 'Mr/Mrs Right'
33
How can we analyse the reasons for the rise in lone parent families? ## Footnote AO3
- Attitudes/secularisation not relevant as **modern church** is less strict on premarital sex/divorce. OR is relevant as **Wilson** found church attendance to only be **5%** - **New Right** view welfare state negatively. **Murray** claims it is a **perverse incentive** that leads to a dependency culture - Laws like Embryology Act and rises in reproductive technology allow greater female independence in child rearing. HOWEVER **can't be applied to all classes** - only MC can afford to be voluntarily single - **Allan and Crowe**: love is the cornerstone of marriage
34
How do the New Right criticise lone parent families? ## Footnote AO3
**Murray**: the rise in lone parent families is a moral decay to our society. Rewarding this behaviour with benefits is a **peverse incentive** that creates a **dependency culture**. Children of lone parents are inadquately socialised and more likely to engage in criminality
35
How can we analyse Murray's view of the dependency culture? ## Footnote AO3
Not as relevant today as policies have been implemented to reduce dependency culture in lone parent families e.g. **Child Maintenance Service** keeps fathers financially accountable
36
How can we evalate the New Right view of the family? ## Footnote AO3
- **Beck and Giddens**: in late modern society people have greater freedom and choice to leave relationships based on their own needs being fulfilled - may be aided by safety net of welfare state - **Mooney**: parental conflict has greater negative impact on children than parental separation
37
What are studies that show the ways that divorce can impact children? ## Footnote AO2
**Crocket and Tripp** children of divorce are more likely to: - **underachieve** in education - suffer from **poor health, mental illness**, and commit suicide - become **criminals** - experience **poverty** **Walerstein** found they were more likely to: - struggle with **substance abuse** - become **sexually active early** - resent parents due to disruption of their own personal arrangements