Topic 4: Divorce Flashcards
What are empty-shell marriages?
Marriages that have lost intimacy and love.
Only kept together for the sake of a child.
What is separation?
Couples who don’t divorce but choose to live apart instead.
However, a person can file for a divorce after 5 years without the consent of the other party.
What happened to the divorce rate after 1970?
It increased dramatically:
1938 - 6,000
1970 - 58,000
1993 - 165,000
What was the general trend in divorces between 1994 and 2012?
A decline with some fluctuations:
1993 - 165,000
2012 - 118,140
What was the divorce rate in 1994 compared to 2012?
1994 - 14.2
2012 - 10.8 (this was a fifth lower than in 2002)
The _______ people are when they marry, the more likely they are to divorce.
The younger people are when they marry, the more likely they are to divorce.
What are ‘silver splitters’?
The number of people over 60 who are divorcing.
It has increased 45% since 2002.
Reasons for increase in divorce:
The Divorce Reform Act of 1969, but why?
It made divorce cheaper and easier due to its “irretrievable breakdown” clause.
Reasons for increase in divorce:
Attitudes: what do functionalists reason?
More divorces are occurring because people are wanting more from marriage.
Reasons for increase in divorce:
Attitudes: why does the emergence of women in the labour force matter?
Because women are no longer financially dependent on their husband - they don’t have to marry to gain financial stability in life.
Reasons for increase in divorce:
Attitudes: What does Hark (1996) claim?
Hark (1996) claims that divorces are occurring due to female frustration at being resigned to domestic roles by their husbands.
Reasons for increase in divorce:
What impact has secularisation had?
Divorce is no longer as stigmatised or shameful.
Reasons for increase in divorce:
There has been a _______ influence from the extended family.
There has been a declining influence from the extended family.
What are Beck and Beck-Gernsheim’s (1995) three main social influences that characterise the postmodern world?
Conflict
Individualisation
Choice
What is individualisation as a social influence?
People are less collectivist now and are more ready to pursue selfish goals.
