Topic 3 - Structural changes in Family life and Diversity Flashcards
What is meant by the ‘cereal packet’ family?
It’s the stereotype often promoted in the mass media advertising.
What percentage of unmarried couples are cohabitating?
25%.
What percentage of cohabitations turn into marriages?
60%.
Why do couples think cohabitation is a good idea?
It acts like a stepping stone to marriage.
What ethnic groups have lower cohabitation rates and why?
Indians, Pakistanis and Bangladeshis because of cultural norms.
What percentage of marriages are likely to end in divorce?
45%.
What percentage of marriages today are remarriages?
40%.
What is serial monogamy?
A person has more than one marriage partner but one after the other.
What are boomerang families and what are reasons for them?
A family in which children return to live with their parents because it’s often cheaper and more comfortable to live with parents.
Give a statistic to support boomerang families.
In 2013, over 3.3 million adults in the UK aged between 20 and 34 were living with a parent or parents.
What are couple house-holds and how prominent are they?
Two people that are together through marriage or cohabitation. 27% of all households are married people without children.
How many children belong to lone-parent families?
1 in 5.
What are reconstituted families?
Step families.
What percentage of families with dependent children are reconstituted?
10%.
What’s a beanpole extended family?
A narrow extended family containing 4 or 5 generations, it’s narrow because of more people choosing to have less children.
What percentage of households have a single person as an occupant? (Creative singlehood)
25%.
State 3 reasons for a rise in cohabitation but a decline in first marriages.
- Secularisation; we now live in a less religious society so many don’t see marriage as a religious duty.
- Sex and cohabitation outside marriage are now seen as socially acceptable.
- Fear of Divorce (McCrea); rise in divorce has led to a fear of it and this can lead to cohabitation as it has less legal binding ties.
- It’s expensive, the average wedding costs £20,000.
Name 3 main reasons for divorce.
Any 3 from: Legal changes Decline in stigma Secularisation Rising expectations Changing role of women Lack of children
Name 3 legal changes that could explain the rise in divorce.
Any 3 from:
1923 - Men and women both can now apply for a divorce.
1949 - The cost of divorce was lowered so working class couples could also afford to get a divorce.
1969 - The Divorce Reform Act; meant that you could get a divorce if you could show that the marriage had broken down beyond repair (irretrievable breakdown, abuse, empty shell marriages, etc.).
1984 - Family Proceedings Act; You could PROCEED to get a divorce after 1 year instead of the 3.
What’s the New Right view on family diversity and society?
- They are against family diversity.
- They believe the traditional nuclear family is the best family.
- They see the nuclear family as natural and other families as dysfunctional, they blame lone parent families for juvenile delinquency.
What’s the post modernist view on family diversity and society?
- They don’t make judgements on whether one is better than the other, they just say they’re different.
- Some argue diversity is good because it allows people to choose what kind of relationships work best for them.
What’s the feminist view on family diversity and society?
- They say it allows women to liberate themselves from control of the traditional patriarchal family.
- Family diversity can reduce problems such as domestic violence.
Name alternatives to the family.
- Cared for children.
- Communal living.
- Friends as family.
