P2 Families and Households - Marriage Flashcards
What is marriage?
Social union or legal contract between people called spouses that creates kinship
What is cohabitation?
Arrangement where two people who are not married live together in an intimate relationship
What have trends shown in graphs?
In 1972, there was the highest number of marriages since WW2 (this attributed tot he baby boom in 1950s)
What is the decrease in marriages?
In 2012 there were 175,000 first marriages which is less than half the number in 1970
Why is marriage in decline according to Morgan?
Morgan notes marriage is under threat for a number of reasons:
- People marrying later
- Changing attitudes to marriage
- Cohabitation, declining stigma to alternatives
- Secularisation
- Increase in single person households
- Declining fertility and birth rates
- Changes in the position of women
- Rising divorce rates
What does Wilkinson argue about the decrease in marriages?
He argues there has been a change in social attitudes. Wilkinson argues that women’s attitudes have radically changed due to priorities, education, feminisation of the economy
What does Smith argue about the decrease in marriages?
Smith argues there are more opportunities and argues that marriage is unrealistic about monogamy. At different stages of life people have different requirements and this may be needed from a new partner
What does Berthoud argue about ethnicity and marriage?
- The percentage of Bangladeshi and Pakistani women getting married by age 25 is 75%.
- The percentage of white women are getting married by 25 is just over 50%
- British African Americans have the lowest rate of marriage - only 39% are married by ages 60 compared to 60% of white adults
What is the evaluation?
- Social Attitudes
- People still rate it as important
- Children is best in marriage
- Benefits of freedom don’t outweigh marriage benefits - Remarriages
- Show commitment to the institution of marriage
