Topic 5 - Changing Family Patterns Flashcards
Has there been an increase in divorce rates?
since the 1960s there has been an increased.one reason for the increase in divorce is because less people are marrying, more people cohabitating.
how many women apply for divorce petitions
about 65%
How changes in laws affect divorce rates
made divorce easier to obtain and created a doubling in divorce rate
how can unhappy marriages find a way out?
desertation- where one partner leaves the other but they still are legally married
legal separation -the court separates the financial and legal affairs , they remain married and are not allowed to re marry
Empty shell marriage - the couple remain married and live under the same roof, have the same name
How declining stigma and changing attitudes effect divorce
divorce has a negative label attatched to it - churches choose to condem divorce and often chose to exclude divorcees from marriage cerimonies
AS STIGMA DECLINES AND DIVORCE BECOMES SOCIALLY ACCEPTABLE, COUPLES ARE LIKELY TO TURN TO DIVORCE RATHER THAN RESOLVE THE PROBLEM
DIVORCE NOWADAYS IS NOW SEEN TO BE MISFORTUNATE
how does secularisation effect the increase in divorce?
secularisation- decline in religions influence in society
sociologists argue that society is becoming more secular
– eg: the number of people who attend church has declined, this means that less people are influenced by religion when thinking about marital matters
how do rising expectations effect the increase in divorce?
come back to this
Fletcher
people have high expectations of marriage, therefore, less people are likely to accept an unhappy marriage
THIS LEADS TO HIGH DIVORCE RATES
How does womens independence effect the increase in
women have a better economic position , they are less financially dependant on their husband
this means that they do not have to bare with conflict and the lack of love w
statistics on womens increased financial independence
girls greater success in education helps them achieve better paid jobs than previous years
what are the feminist explanations on the increase of divorce
feminists believe that women have the dual burden and perform domestic labour , creating more conflict between a couple.
\feminists also argue that marriage remains patriarchal , with men benefitting from their wives triple shift/ dual burden
What does Horschild say?
within the household, men don’t do a lot, which causes frustration
as both the genders go to work, they cannot complete emotion work which allows problems to surface.
what does Rushton argue
she argues that mothers who have a dual burden of paid work and domestic work are more likely to divorce than non working mothers
RADICAL FEMINST- Bernard
women are dissatisfied with patriarchal marriage
how does modernity and individualisation effect the increase in divorce rate
because of the individualisation thesis, marriages become more delicate and they are less likely to stay iin the relationship , the relationship then satisfies each partners needs- for the sake of the children
what is the individualisation thesis
when one wants to achieve their own interests
what is a pu=e relationship
is one that focuses on each of the partners needs because of their children
what do New Right critics say about divorce rates ?
high divorce rates are undesirable as it undermines marriage and the nuclear family
what do Feminists say about the increasing divorce rates?
see a high divorce rate as desirable as women are breaking away from opression
what do postmodernists think about a high reward rate
it shows us that people have freedom to choose to end a relationships
what are the reasons of changing family patterns
the number of first marriages change declining stigma attached to alternatives to marriage changes in the position of women remarriages fear of divorce age of marriage
cohabitation
unmarried couple in a sexual relationship living together
there are 69,000 same sex
couples
why has cohabitation increased
young people are more likely to accept cohabitation
women are in less need of financial secuirity as they have jobs
unreligious people are more likely to cohabit
