PAPER 2 (Families - marriage, divorce) Flashcards
What is the percentage of nuclear families in the UK?
67%
What is the percentage of cohabiting families in the UK?
18%
What is the percentage of lone parent families in the UK?
15%.
With 9 out of 10 being women headed.
What is the percentage of same-sex couple families in the UK?
1%
What is the percentage of children in:
Lone parent families
Married families
Cohabiting families
LP - 25%
M - 64%
C - 15%
Divorce Rate
Number of divorces that happen per every 1,000 people each year.
How many divorces were there in 1970?
58,000
How many divorces were there in 2019?
108,000
How many marriages were there in 1970?
415,000
How many marriages were there in 2019?
220,000
Why may people get divorced?
Marrying at a young age.
Having a child before they marry.
Cohabiting before marriage.
Have been married before.
Secularisation
Decline in religion. Half of British people say they are not religious. 5% of Britons go to church.
Divorce - women’s increased financial independence.
Over the past 40 years, there are more women in work now - 72% and less men.
The gender pay gap is close to zero for those aged 18-39.
Divorce - rising expectations of marriage.
(Fletcher)
Divorce - women are increasingly dissatisfied with marriage.
Delphy and Leonard - dual burden.
Dumcombe and Marsden - triple shift.
Bernard
Divorce - increase in modernity and individualisation.
(Beck and Giddens)
Empty-shell marriage.
When a married couple live together, but are not in a ‘relationship anymore’. They are not in love anymore.
They do not separate due to:
Cannot afford to
The stigma, especially in religious families
Children
Why do women cope better with divorce than men?
Women are more likely to get custody of the children.
Men are more likely to have no friends.
Reasons for changes in the pattern of marriage:
- Higher life expectancy.
- Expensive.
- Worried about marriage.
- More career focused.
Reasons for increase in cohabitation:
- Cost of living is too high.
- Weddings are expensive.
- High expectations.
- Decline in stigma of sex outside marriage.
Main changes in childbearing since the 1960s:
- Women are waiting until later in life to have children.
- More women have no children.
- Half of babies are born outside of marriage.
Reasons for changes in childbearing:
- Child-centredness, favour quality over quantity.
- Children are an economic liability.
- Higher life-expectancy.
- Women are working.
- Infant mortality rate has fallen.
Reconstituted family
(Stepfamily) One or both partners have children from previous relationships.
