Topic 2 - Changing Family Patterns

Question 1

Changing patterns in divorce

Answer 1

-Since the 1960s there has been a great ^ in the number of divorces in the UK.
-In recent years numbers have somewhat fallen but still far higher than the 1960s.
-One reason for the fall in the no. of divorces since the 1990s is that fewer people are marrying.
-Common reasons for divorce are unreasonable behaviour from husbands.
-Young couples, couples who have children before marriage + those where they were married before are couples most likely to divorce.
-About 65% of petitions for divorce now come from women, sharp contrast to the situation in the past.

Question 2

What are the 7 explanations for the increase in divorce?

Answer 2

1.) Changes in the law
2.) Declining stigma + changing attitudes
3.) Secularisation
4.) Rising expectations of marriage
5.) Women’s increased financial independence
6.) Feminist explanations
7.) Modernity + individualisation

Question 3

EXPLANATIONS FOR ^ IN DIVORCE 1.) Changes in the law

Answer 3

-Making the divorce cheaper (1949)
-Widening the grounds for divorce (1971)
-Equalising the grounds for divorce between sexes (1923)
-There we’re many other ways of solving an unhappy marriage including: -Desertion, where one partner leaves the other but the couple remain legally married.
-Legal separation, where a court separates the financial + legal affairs of the couple.
-‘Empty Shell’ marriage, where the couple lives under the same roof, but only married in name.

Question 4

EXPLANATIONS FOR ^ IN DIVORCE 2.) Declining stigma and changing attitudes

Answer 4

-The church tended to stigmatise divorcees + often refused to conduct marriage services involving divorcees.
-Juliet Mitchell and Jack Goody (1997)
-As stigma declines, couples become more willing to resort to divorce.
-The fact that divorce is now more common begins to ‘normalise’ it.

Question 5

EXPLANATIONS FOR ^ IN DIVORCE 3.) Secularisation

Answer 5

-Decline in the influence of religion in society.
-Society is becoming more secular, e.g. church attendance rates continue to decline.
-Secularisation, has led to the traditional opposition of the churches to divorce carries less weight in society.
-Many churches have begun to soften their views on divorce + divorcees. This may be due to fears of losing credibility.

Question 6

EXPLANATIONS FOR ^ IN DIVORCE 4.) Rising expectations of marriage

Answer 6

-Ronald Fletcher (1966) argues that higher expectations people place on marriage today are a major cause of rising divorce rates.
-Romantic love: the belief that marriage should be based solely on love.
-If love dies, there is every reason to divorce + find soulmate.
-In the past individuals often had little choice in who they married, meaning expectations were lower.
-Graham Cow (2001)
-Although divorcees became u happy with their partner, they often remarry showing they do not reject marriage (positive light) - functionalist.

Question 7

EXPLANATIONS FOR ^ IN DIVORCE 5.) Women’s increase financial independence

Answer 7

-Improvement in women’s economic position has increased willingness to seek divorce.
-The proportion of women working rose from 53% in 1971 to 67% in 2013.
-Equal pay + anti-discrimination laws have helped to narrow the pay gap.
-Greater success in education = better paid jobs.
-Welfare benefits are more attainable, meaning women won’t tell on men.
-Allan + Crow

Question 8

EXPLANATIONS FOR ^ IN DIVORCE 6.) Feminist explanations

Answer 8

-Feminists argue women today bear a dual burden (paid work + domestic labour), creating a new source of conflict between husbands + wives = ^ divorce rate.
-Marriage remains patriarchal, with men benefiting from their wives ‘triple shifts’ (paid, domestic + emotional work).
-Arlie Hochschild (1997) argue that for many women, the home compares unfavourably with work.
-Wendy Sigle-Rushton (ERSC 2007); mother’s who have a dual burden are more likely to divorce.
-Cooke + Gash (2010 - disagree
-Jessie Bernard (1976); women are becoming more confident about rejecting patriarchal oppression.

Question 9

EXPLANATIONS FOR ^ IN DIVORCE 7.) Modernity/Postmodernity and individualisation

Answer 9

-Ulrich Beck (1992) + Anthony Giddens (1992) argue in modern society, trad norms lose their hood over individuals.
-Each individual is free to pursue his or her own self-interest (individualisation thesis).
-Relationships become fragile due to the desire of a ‘pure relationship’
-^ divorce rate ‘normalises it’
-Women now expected to pursue their career ambitions = conflicts of interest.
-Modernity encourages people to adopt a neo-liberal, consumerist society.

Question 10

Changing marriage rates…

Answer 10

-Fewer people are marrying: marriage rates are at it’s lowest since the 1920s.
-Marriage rates for opposite-sex couples in 2015 were lowest on record.

Question 11

EXPLANATIONS FOR CHANGING PATTERNS OF MARRIAGE 1.) Changing attitudes to marriage

Answer 11

-Less pressure to marry + is a weakened norm.
-Individuals can choose what type of relationship they want.
-A widespread belief that the quality of a couple’s relationship is more important than it’s legal status.

Question 12

EXPLANATIONS FOR CHANGING PATTERNS OF MARRIAGE 2.) Secularisation

Answer 12

-A decline of religious thinking + practice in society.
-The churches influence decreases, therefore people are more likely to choose not to marry.
-3% of young people with no religion were married, as against up to 17% of those with a religion.

Question 13

EXPLANATIONS FOR CHANGING PATTERNS OF MARRIAGE 3.) Declining stigma attached to marriage alternatives

Answer 13

-Cohabitation, remaining single, and having children outside marriage are all now widely regarded as acceptable.
-Pregnancy no longer leads to a ‘shotgun wedding’.
-In 1989, 70% believed that couples who want children should get married but by 2012 only 42% thought so.

Question 14

EXPLANATIONS FOR CHANGING PATTERNS OF MARRIAGE 4.) Changes in the position of women

Answer 14

-Women are less economically dependent on men.
-Giving greater freedom not to marry.
-The feminist view that marriage is an oppressive patriarchal institution may also dissuade some women from marrying.

Question 15

EXPLANATIONS FOR CHANGING PATTERNS OF MARRIAGE 5.) Fear of divorce

Answer 15

-With the rising divorce rate, some may be put off marrying because they see the ^ likelihood of marriage ending in divorce.

Question 16

Cohabitation

Answer 16

-Involves an unmarried couple in a sexual relationship.
-While the number of marriages is falling cohabitation is rising.
-3.5 million cohabiting couples in 2020.

Question 17

Why has there been an increase in cohabitation?

Answer 17

-Decline in stigma attaches to sex outside marriage.
-In 1989, only 44% of people agreed that ‘premarital sex is not wrong at all’ but 65% took this view by 2012.
-The young are more likely to accept cohabitation.
-Increased career opportunities for women may mean they have less need for the financial security of marriage + are freer to opt for cohabitation.
-Secularisation: younger people with no religion are more likely to cohabit.
-For many cohabitation is a step on the way to getting married (Robert Chester)
-It could be considered as a trial marriage so that couples are sure they are right for each other.
-They may marry after children or be awaiting divorce.

Question 18

What would sociologists say about the effects of cohabitation on society?

Answer 18

-Argue that cohabitation is positive as it allows individuals to find true love = happier society.
-On the other hand, it could be argued as a negative as it decreases the chances of children growing up in mentally + economically stable households.

Question 19

Same sex relationships

Answer 19

-1967 homosexuality made legal for over 21s
-2002 same sex couples could adopt
-2004 civil partnership Act gave same sex couples same legal rights as married couples
-2014 same sex couples could msrry

Question 20

Why has there been a change in same sex relationships?

Answer 20

-Stonewall (2012): 5-7% of the adult pop. today have same-sex relationships.
-It is impossible to judge whether this represents an ^ because in the past, stigma + laws mean’t such relationships were hidden.
-Jeffery Weeks (1999) argues that ^ social acceptance may explain a trend towards same-sex cohabitation + stable relationships that resemble those found among heterosexuals.
-Kath Weston (1992) describes same-sex cohabitation as ‘quasi marriage’ + notes that many gay couples are now deciding to cohabit as stable partners, contrasting gay relations in the 1970s.
-Gay lifestyle during the 1970s was rejecting monogamy + family life in favour of casual relationship.

Question 21

What would sociologists say about the effects of same sex relationships on society?

Answer 21

-Allan + Crow argue that because of the absence of such framework until recently, same sex partners have had to negotiate their commitment + responsibilities more than heterosexual couples.
-This could lead to positive effects, e.g. flexibility but also negative effects such as instability.
-Adopted children in same-sex couples won’t have either a male or female role model = inadequate socialisation.

Question 22

Why has there been an increase in One person households?

Answer 22

-The ^ in separation + divorce has created more one-person households. Especially among men under 65.
-Following divorce, any children are more likely to live with their mother; father is more likely to leave the family home.
-Decline in the numbers marrying, + the trend towards marrying later, also mean more people are remaining single.
-The proportion of adults who are single has risen by half since 1971. Many are living alone.
-It is possible that a growing number are opting for ‘creative single-hood’ - the deliberate choice to live alone.
-Some are alone due to few partners available in their age group (older widows).

Question 23

What would sociologists say about the effects of one person households on society?

Answer 23

-Many argue that is cases such as (LAT) one person households could keep individuals in the right frame of mind.
-However, living alone may become boring + lead to mental health issues.

Question 24

Living apart together (LATs)

Answer 24

-Levin (2004) has identified a LAT relationship; where individuals are in long-term committed, intimate relationships, define themselves as a couple yet do not share a common home.
-The ^ number of LAT relationships reflects the growing ways in which the concept of ‘family’ are increasingly challenged.

Question 25

Why has their been a growth in LATs?

Answer 25

-Levin sees the growth of LATs arising from similar social changes + changing norms to those that caused the ^ in divorce, decline in marriage + ^ in cohabitation.
-Haskey (2005) estimated there were 2 million couples in 2002-3 in Britain in LATs.
-Divorce + separation have continued to ^ and the LAT relationship has become a more common + socially acceptable way of dealing with the fall-out.
-Changes in labour market makes it more difficult for partners to retain existing jobs/incomes in other areas.
-Modern technology allows for constant contact.

Question 26

What is the meaning of LATs ‘The Pure Relationship’

Answer 26

Levin: ‘LATs enable couples to both pursue the intimacy of being in a couple + at the same time persevere their individual autonomy + identity.
-3 reason why people choose LATs: 1.) Responsibility and care; The couple have existing responsibilities for other people.
2.) Practical reasons, such as apartners working in different places.
3.) Risk; apartners don’t want to repeat the same mistake twice.

Question 27

Why has there been an increase in birth outside marriage, decrease in women having children and having them later?

Answer 27

-A decline in stigma + ^ in cohabitation.
-Only 28% of 25-34 year olds now think marriage should come before parenthood.
-The later age at which women are having children, smaller family sizes + the fact that more women are remaining childless, all reflect the fact that women now have more options than just motherhood.
-Many women are seeking to establish themselves in a career before starting a family, or instead of having any children at all.

Question 28

What would sociologists say about the effects of changes in childbearing on society?

Answer 28

-Having children outside marriage can lead to instability + therefore many other issues while trying to raise a child.
-Women not having children or having them late will decrease extended families + may reduce the pop.

Question 29

Why has there been an increase in Lone Parent Families?

Answer 29

-The rapid growth of L.P.F can be explained by a number of factors, some of which have already been discussed in explaining the rising divorce rate. These include:
1.) The greater economic independence of women; Both through more job opportunities + through support from the welfare state = less need for a husband’s economic stability.
2.) Improved contraception, changing male attitudes, and fewer ‘shotgun weddings’; Wider availability + approval of safe + effective contraception, + easier access to safe + legal abortion, men may feel less responsibility to marry/cohabit with women + support them should they become unintentionally pregnant.
3.) Reproductive technology is available to women, enabling them to bear children without a male partner.
4.) Changing social attitudes; less stigma attached to lone parenthood today.

Question 30

What would sociologists say about the effects of L.P.F on society?

Answer 30

-NR thinker Charles Murray (1990) argue generous welfare benefits encourage women to have children they could not otherwise afford.
-He believes welfare state should become harsher to prevent irresponsible childbirths.
-The growth in lone parenthood has been seen by the NR as a major sign of the decline of conventional family life.
-L.P.F have been blamed for everything by the media and NR conservative politicians.
-Lone parenthood has therefore been presented as a major social problem, + there have been periodic moral panics about lone parenthood in the media.

Question 31

How have NR views on L.P.F been critiqued?

Answer 31

-NR critics argue that welfare benefits are from generous + aiding the poverty to access a better future = positive for society.
-Never-married lone mothers only account for half of all lone parents.
-Problems allegedly created by absent fathers are due to actual involvement from the father.
-A Home Office report has found no difference in crime rates between youngsters from lone parenthood + two-parent families.
-Even if there was a link between lone parenthood + crime, it is most likely caused by poverty.

Question 32

Why has there been an increase in step-families?

Answer 32

-Similar factors to those of L.P.F.
-More children in step families are from the women’s previous relationship.
-Stepparents are at greater risk of poverty because there are often more children.
-Tensions faced by stepfamilies may be the result of a lack of clear social norms about how individuals should behave in such families.

Question 33

What would sociologists say about the effects of step families on society?

Answer 33

A few sociologists would suggest step families create huge disharmony in households as individuals act in roles which are not the norm.
-This can lead to violence or rebellious children.

Question 34

Black families

Answer 34

-Black Caribbean + African; highest proportion of L.P.F.
-51% of black children live in L.P.F (compared to 23% of white children).
-This May be because black women are traditionally from matrifocal families + like to be independent.
-Another suggestion is due to high rates of unemployment among black males may lead some women not to cohabit or marry.
-Black women usually work and may be helped by ‘relatives’.
-Mirza (1997) argues that the higher rate of L.P.F among society is not the result of disorganisation but rather reflects the high value women place on independence.

Question 35

Asian families

Answer 35

-Bangladeshi, Pakistani and Indian households tend to be larger than other households.
-Such households sometimes contain 3 generations but most are in fact nuclear.
-Larger households are partly a result of the younger age profile of British Asians (more people in the childbearing age group).
-High value placed on extended families in Asian culture.
-Due to immigration people had to help each other out (family is an important source of support + financial help) e.g. Hounslow.

Question 36

The extended family today (W/C communities + South Asian communities)

Answer 36

-According to Parsons, the extended family was dominant in pre+industrial society but has now been replaced by the nuclear family.
-Nickie Charles’ (2008) study of swansea found, the extended family is now ‘all but extinct’ apart from among the Bangladeshi community.
-Peter Wilmott (1988) argues the extended family continues to exist as a ‘dispersed extended family’, where relatives are geographically separated but remain in close contact (visits/phone calls).
-As Chamberlain suggests, the extended family survives because it performs important functions for it’s members, e.g. emotional bonds and need for support.

Question 37

The ‘Beanpole family’; What is it?

Answer 37

-A particular type of extended family that extends vertically, through 3+ generations.
-It does not extend horizontally.
-Charles found the same high level of contact between mothers + daughters that Bell found in the 60s. However in the case of brothers + sisters, there had been a sharp decline in both support + contact (A beanpole structure).

Question 38

What two demographic changes may be the cause of the ‘beanpole’ family?

Answer 38

-Increased life expectancy means more surviving grand parents + great-grand parents.
-Smaller family sizes means people have fewer siblings + thus fewer horizontal lines.

Question 39

How does obligation to relatives counter the ‘beanpole’ family?

Answer 39

-Despite the ^ of the BP family, many people still feel a sense of obligation to help their wider extended kin.
-Finch + Mason (1993) found that over 90% of people had given or received financial help, + about half had cared for a sick relative.
-More is expected from females than males.

Question 40

What does Cheal (2002) argue when it comes to help with household tasks?

Answer 40

-‘A systematic set of rules exists for deciding who has the greatest obligation to assist. Help should be given: 1.) Spouse 2.) Daughter 3.) Daughter-in-law 4.) Son 5.) Other relatives 6.) Non-relatives’
-Sons are rarely chosen as caregivers for elderly women, while daughters are rarely chosen as appropriate people to provide money.
-People felt that help received should be returned to avoid any feelings of indebtedness ~ Finch + Mason