family types Flashcards
Nuclear Family
Traditional family composed of 2 parents and one or more children (Cereal packet family)
Statistics
23% of all households in the UK
Sociologists
Murdock - Studied 250 societies and found each contained a basic nucleus of a husband, wife, and one or more children.
‘Universal social grouping’ - found in all societies
Lone Parents
A parent not living with a spouse or partner, has day to day responsibilities of raising their child
Statistics
24% of all families in the UK
1/4 children live in a lone parent family
Sociologists
Charles Murray (1993) - ‘the single most important social problem is illegitimacy’ - New Right Viewpoint - benefits give perverse incentives for lone parent families
Ann Oakley - Women can be free from male oppression in a lone parent family
Smart and Neale - Divorce causes people to value parent children relationships more
Same Sex Relationships
2 people of the same sex in a relationship
Statistics
5-7% of adult population in the UK
It is impossible to judge if there has been an increase as stigma and illegality
Civil Partnership (2004) - Same sex couples have legal rights similar to heterosexual married couples
Sociologists
Heapney (2013) - Relationships are not new but is now publically acknowledged
Blended/Reconstituted Families
Two adult parents with children from another family/marriage
Statistics
10% of families with dependent children
Sociologists
New Right- Seen as a solution to the ‘problem’ of lone parent families as it appears as a normal family and can be the chance of a successful and happy family life
Co-habitation
People living together and forming a family without marriage
Statistics
2 million people cohabiting in the UK
3% of families are cohabiting in the UK
80% of marriages previously cohabitated
Fastest growing family type in the UK
Reasons for increase
- Decline in stigma/Changing attitudes
- Fear of divorce
Extended Family
Vertical: Multiple generations live in one household
Horizontal: Multiple members of the same generation in one household
Sociologists
Talcott Parsons - Extended families dominated pre industrial society and was replaced by the nuclear family in contemporary UK due to improved technology.
Nickie Charles - 3 generations under one roof are more common
e.g. Bangladeshi British families are the biggest extended family demographic in the UK
Elective Singlehood
People choosing to live alone whatever their relationship status is
Statistics
20% of adults live alone; many are elderly widows
LATs
Living Apart Together
Sociologists
Levin (2004) identified the LAT family type. He argues LATs can follow cohabitation to become financially secure and choose to live seperately
Boomerang Children
Adult children who move out then move back home e.g. relationship breakdown
Beanpole Family
Long, thin family tree due to people living longer and having less children
Statistics
In 1982 there were 2560 centenarians, in 2012 it increased to 12,320.
Co-parenting
2 or more people parenting a child, not in a romantic relationship, married, or cohabitating
Reasons for increase
- Declining stigma/Changing attitudes
- Increase in divorce rates
Sandwich Generation
Caring for children and elderly parents
Statistics
2.4 million people in the UK responsible for their children and elderly parents.
People living longer and having children later contributes as the average age of women at their first birth is 27.3 years
Child Freedom
Actively choosing not to have children due to less stigma
