Topic 5- Changing family patterns Flashcards
Explain the trend in divorce
-since 1960s increase in divorce in the UK
-upward trend in divorce continued till 1993 where it peaked
-since then numbers have fallen but this is still higher than 1961 as 40% of marriages now end in divorce
reasons for the fall in divorce rates (1) and who is more likely to divorce(3)
1.people choosing to cohabit instead
2.now 65% of petitions for divorce come from women= unacceptable behaviour of the husband
3.couples who marry young and have a child before they marry, or cohabit before marrying more likely to divorce.
4.those where a partner or both partners hade been married before are more likely to divorce
Outline the reasons for the increase in divorce 7
1.changes in the law
2.declining stigma and changing attitudes
3.secularisation
4.feminist explanations
5. womens increased financial independence(changing position)
6.rising expectations of marriage
7.modernity and individualisation
Explain how law changes have caused a divorce increase
- 1923: equalising grounds of divorce: rise in divorce from women
- 1949: making divorce cheaper so more accessible for working classes
- 1979: widening grounds for divorce: easier to obtain
4.as divorce has become easier other solutions to an unhappy marriage are less popular such as:
-desertion:remaining legally married but not together
-legal separation:court separates financial&legal affairs but remain married
-empty shell marriage: couple live under same roof but remain married in name only
explain how decline in stigma & changing attitudes have caused a divorce increase
1.mitchell and goody: since 1960s decrease in the stigma (negative label) attached to divorce
2.divorce is now more accepted so more turn to it
3. so divorce has become ‘normalised’ seen as a misfortune rather than shameful
Explain how secularisation has caused a divorce increase
1.religions influence has declined in society as it has become more secular e.g less people attend church
2.the church now has less influence in society so less are influenced by religious teachings therefore more accepting of divorce
3.churches have now softened their views on divorce
explain the feminist explanation on the increase of divorce
-say women today suffer a dual burden of paid work and domestic labour creating a new source of conflict between husband and wife resulting in divorce
-women have improved in the public sphere (work) but not the private sphere (family and relationships.)
-Hochschild : homelife for women is unfavourable compared to working where they are treated more equal. men and women work longer hours so little time to discuss conflict over housework leading to divorce.
-Bernard: increased divorce is due to growing acceptance of feminist ideas and an acknowledgement of the oppressive patriarchal marriage which women are now more likely to reject
- Sigle-Rushton: women who have a dual burden of paid and domestic work are more likely to divorce than non-working mothers.
explain how changing positions of women’s increasing financial independence has caused a divorce increase
-womens economic position has improved, no longer rely on men for a variety of reasons:
1.more women in paid work
2.women generally earn less but equal pay act 1970 and anti discrimination laws have helped narrow the pay gap
3.girls achieve better in education so get better paid jobs
4.welfare benefits mean women no longer have to remain financially dependent on men as the state provides.
explain how rising expectations of love/marriage has caused a divorce increase
1.fletcher: high expectations on marriage = divorce increase
2.links to the ‘ideology of romantic love’ - marriage should solely be based on love, for each individual there is ‘the one’ and if the one dies there is no need to remain searching.
3.past =people married out of a sense of duty / economic reasons =lower expectations
4.allan & crow: people no longer see marriage as a binding contract but a relationship to seek personal fulfilment so if they don’t find that they divorce
explain how modernity and individualisation has caused a divorce increase
-beck & giddens: in modern society tradition norms such as staying with one partner lose influence
-relationships = more fragile ,if personal fulfilment isn’t met individuals are less likely to stay with that person
-instead people seek a pure relationship: satisfy each persons needs =increase in divorce
what are feminists views on divorce
welcome high divorce rates as it shows women are breaking free from patriarchal oppression of the nuclear family
what are functionalists views on divorce
high divorce isn’t a threat to marriage as high re-marriage shows people are still committed to marriage. increased divorce just shows a higher expectation of marriage today.
interactionists views on divorce
they look at what divorce means to individuals. Morgan: can’t generalise meaning of divorce as it is different for everyone. e.g mitchell&goody interviewed 2 people, 1 had a happy experience with divorce and another never recovered from it.
the personal life perspectives view on divorce
divorce can cause financial difficulty and lack of contact with children.
however smart says divorce has become normalised. rather than a social problem it should be seen as another transition in the life course
post modernists and the individualisation thesis view on divorce
see divorce rates as showing individuals now have more freedom to end a relationship that no longer meets their needs. they see divorce as a major source of family diversity
new rights view on divorce
-high divorce rate are undesirable ,undermines marriage and the traditional nuclear family.
-high divorce creates an underclass of welfare dependent lone parents who produce deviant boys with no role model
name the trends in marriage 4
-fewer people are marrying
-more remarriages leading to serial monogamy: a pattern of marriage,divorce,re marriage
-people are marrying later women 32 men 30
-couples today less likely to marry in church
reasons for the changes in marriage 5
1.fear of divorce: put off marriage
2.changing position of women: greater financial independence less reliant on men greater freedom not to marry
3.changing attitudes to marriage: less pressure to marry, more freedom to choose a relationship you want
4.decline in stigma: sex before marriage, children outside of marriage and cohabitation now widely accepted
5.secularisation:church influence declined so people feel freer to not marry. census 2001 showed young people with no religion less likely to marry , explaining why fewer people marry in church.
Why is the age people marry increasing / re-marriage increasing
1.the age that couples marry is rising as young people are focusing on education/careers also more people cohabit first
2.reason for an increase in re marriage is an increase in divorce.
Patterns in cohabitation
-cohabiting couples with children are the fastest growing family type
-about 2.9 million heterosexual cohabiting couples in UK, 69,000 same sex
-about a fifth of all cohabiting are ‘serial cohabitants’ had one or more previous cohabitations
reasons for increased cohabitation 4
1.decline in stigma attached to sex before marriage
2.young people more accepting of cohabitation
3.increased career opportunities for women so less need for financial security of marriage so opt for cohabitation
4.secularisation: young people with no religion are more likely to cohabit than those with a religion
2 views on the relationship between marriage and cohabitation
-step to getting married
-trial marriage
explain the view of it being a step to getting married
chester: cohabitation is part of the process to getting married
e.g coast found 75% of cohabiting couples say they expect to marry each other
explain the view of it being a trial marriage
-seen as a trial marriage, intend to marry if it goes well
-most cohab couples marry if they have children
-can be a temporary phase if a partner is awaiting a divorce/can’t afford marriage
-Benjin: cohabitation is a conscious attempt to create a more equal relationship
suggest the trend in same sex relationships
Stonewall: estimates 5-7% of the population are in same sex relationships. impossible to judge if this has increased as the past stigma/illegality meant they were hidden
Name some evidence to suggest more social acceptance of same sex relationships
-opinion polls show tolerance
-1967: male homosexuality legalised for over 21s
-2000= age of consent equalised with heterosexuals
-2002 right for them to adopt
-2004 civil right partnership act gave homosexuals similar rights to married couples in terms of pensions/property/inheritance
-2014 same sex couples able to marry
what sociologists discuss same sex relationships
weeks
weston
allan&crow
what does weeks say
-same sex couples are starting to resemble heterosexuals due to their increased social acceptance
-same sex couples should create their relationship based on ‘friendship as kinship’ =’chosen families’ ,offer the same security as heterosexual families.
what does weston say
same sex cohabitation is a ‘quasi marriage’ - couples now starting to cohabit as stable partners
what does allan&crow say
absence of legal frameworks such as civil partnerships means same sex couples had to negotiate their commitment more than married couples.
this may have made same sex relationships more flexible and less stable
patterns of one person house holds
-big rise in number of people living alone
-in 2013 , 3 in 10 households contained only 1 person
-40% of all one person households are over 65.
-pensioner one person households have doubled whilst non pensioners tripled
-by 2033 over 33% of the adult population will be single
reasons for the changes in one person households
-increase in separation and divorce so more 1 person households because after divorce children more likely to live with mother, =father alone
-‘creative singlehood’ : deliberate choice to live alone
-the trend towards marrying later means people are single for longer
what is a living apart together couple
a couple in a significant relationship but not married/cohabiting
patterns in living apart togethers
1.duncan&phillips: 1 in 10 adults in a LAT
2.both choice and constraint are reasons why couples don’t live together but few choose to live apart
3. 20% see lats as the ideal relationship
4.being a LAT couple is no longer abnormal and doesnt amount to rejection of traditional relationships
state the trends in childbearing
-today nearly half of all children born outside marriage
-women having children later (average 28.1 in 2012)
-women having fewer children than in 20th century, 1.9 on average in 2010
-more women remaining childless
reasons for the changes in childbearing
-more births outside of marriage due to a decline in stigma and an increase in cohab
-later age having children, fewer children, no children due to changing position of women : career before children
patterns in lone parent families
-increasing: 1 in 4 children live in lone parent families
-over 90% headed by lone mothers
-a child living with lone parent is twice as likely to be in poverty as a child living with 2 parents
reasons for changes in lone parent families
-increase in divorce&separation
-decline in stigma to women having children outside of marriage
why do they tend to be female headed lone parent families 5
-women are by nature suited to a nurturing role
-divorce courts biased to giving women custody
-men less willing to give up work to care for children
-some female headed by choice, dont wish to cohabit/marry. professional women able to support child without fathers involvement
-cashmore: working class women chose to live on benefits without a father as they had experienced abuse
What culture most likely to be in a lone parent family?
Blacks- black african/black carribbean
what sociologist discusses lone parenthood the welfare state and poverty
new right thinker charles murray
what does charles murray state 3
-lone parent families are problematic for society as they are welfare dependent and produce delinquent boys who lack a male role model
-growth of lone parent families is a consequence of an over generous welfare state therefore murray would like to abolish welfare benefits as they have created perverse incentives
- Also creates a dependency culture: people take for granted that the state will provide for them
explain the criticisms of charles murray 3
welfare benefits aren’t generous and lone parent families are likely to live in poverty as:
-lack of affordable childcare means parents can’t work
-most are women headed who earn less than men
-failure of fathers to pay maintenance especially if they have formed a second family that they have to support= drives poor from relative to absolute poverty.
what sociologists discuss step families
ferri&smith
allan&crow
mccarthy et al
what do ferri&smith state
step families are very similar to first families. step parent involvement in childcare is positive, but at greater risk of poverty.
what do allan&crow state
step families face problems of divided loyalty with the non resident parent where tension can occur
what does mccarthy et al state
there is diversity in step families so we should speak of them as ‘stepfamilies’ not ‘the step family’.
some have few tensions , some more, while some are no different than those in first families
reasons for the changes in step families 4
-due to increase in divorce and separation
-they are at greater risk of poverty as step father may support other children
-tensions faced may be due to lack of social norms about how individuals should behave
-more children are from the woman side as children are more likely to stay with the mother
trends in black families
-black african&black carribbean people have a higher proportion of lone parent families
-seen as evidence of family disorganisation linked back to slavery: couples were sold separately and children stayed with mothers.
-also linked to high levels of unemployment among black males= less able to provide creating conflict
criticisms against lone black families
1. mirza: high rate of female headed lone parent families is not as a result of disorganisation but reflects independence of black women
2.reynolds: statistics are misleading as what appears as lone parent families are stable LATS.
trends in asian familys
-tendency towards 3 generations living under 1 roof
-ballard: extended families offered an important role for migrants in the 1950s and 1960s with housing/financial and childcare support
-today, sikhs/muslims/hindus most likely to live in an extended family.
explain the extended family today
-pre industrial =extended family was the dominant family type: unit of production
-modern industrial society =replaced by the nuclear family: Unit of consumption
-willmot: extended family become a ‘dispersed extended family’ =families may not live under one roof yet remain in frequent contact providing support to families e.g emotional/financial /childcare support
-m/c: financial help from father to son
-w/c: domestic help from mothers to daughters
explain what is said about the bean pole family
-type of extended family brannen states it is long and thin
-extended vertically through 3 or more generations
maybe a result of 2 demographic changes:
1.increased life expectancy
2.smaller family sizes: people feel obligated to help their family e.g finch and mason found over 90% of people had given or received financial help /half cared for a sick relative
-Cheal: gender patterns occur in terms of obligation e.g daughters preferred to help elderly women however rarely chosen to provide money
