family types

Question 1

Nuclear Family

Answer 1

Traditional family composed of 2 parents and one or more children (Cereal packet family)

Question 2

Statistics

Answer 2

23% of all households in the UK

Question 3

Sociologists

Answer 3

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

Question 4

Lone Parents

Answer 4

A parent not living with a spouse or partner, has day to day responsibilities of raising their child

Question 5

Statistics

Answer 5

24% of all families in the UK

1/4 children live in a lone parent family

Question 6

Sociologists

Answer 6

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

Question 7

Same Sex Relationships

Answer 7

2 people of the same sex in a relationship

Question 8

Statistics

Answer 8

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

Question 9

Sociologists

Answer 9

Heapney (2013) - Relationships are not new but is now publically acknowledged

Question 10

Blended/Reconstituted Families

Answer 10

Two adult parents with children from another family/marriage

Question 11

Statistics

Answer 11

10% of families with dependent children

Question 12

Sociologists

Answer 12

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

Question 13

Co-habitation

Answer 13

People living together and forming a family without marriage

Question 14

Statistics

Answer 14

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

Question 15

Reasons for increase

Answer 15

• Decline in stigma/Changing attitudes
• Fear of divorce

Question 16

Extended Family

Answer 16

Vertical: Multiple generations live in one household

Horizontal: Multiple members of the same generation in one household

Question 17

Sociologists

Answer 17

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

Question 18

Elective Singlehood

Answer 18

People choosing to live alone whatever their relationship status is

Question 19

Statistics

Answer 19

20% of adults live alone; many are elderly widows

Question 20

LATs

Answer 20

Living Apart Together

Question 21

Sociologists

Answer 21

Levin (2004) identified the LAT family type. He argues LATs can follow cohabitation to become financially secure and choose to live seperately

Question 22

Boomerang Children

Answer 22

Adult children who move out then move back home e.g. relationship breakdown

Question 23

Beanpole Family

Answer 23

Long, thin family tree due to people living longer and having less children

Question 24

Statistics

Answer 24

In 1982 there were 2560 centenarians, in 2012 it increased to 12,320.

Question 25

Co-parenting

Answer 25

2 or more people parenting a child, not in a romantic relationship, married, or cohabitating

Question 26

Reasons for increase

Answer 26

• Declining stigma/Changing attitudes
• Increase in divorce rates

Question 27

Sandwich Generation

Answer 27

Caring for children and elderly parents

Question 28

Statistics

Answer 28

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

Question 29

Child Freedom

Answer 29

Actively choosing not to have children due to less stigma