Topic 6 - Changing Family Patterns Flashcards
What did Chester (1985) suggest about changing family patterns?
The Neo conventional family is on the rise:
- Family diversity is not negative
- The family is dual earners (noted by Young and Wilmott)
- People aspire for nuclear family still
- Sees nuclear family as dominant but with dual earners and playing the instrumental role.
What did Rappaport (1982) suggest about changing family patterns?
UK families have become more plural, with diversity reflecting society and new culture:
- Organisational: families have multiple accepted conjugal roles and wage earners.
- Cultural: Different cultures have different families e.g beanpole or generational in Asian communities.
- Social Class: income can affect family structures and roles.
- Life Stage: Different families emerge at different times of life.
- Generational: Different ages have different views/norms and beliefs of family and morality surrounding divorce and cohabitation.
How do Functionalists view family diversity?
Parsons argued that the nuclear family performs 2 important factions:
- Socialization of Children
- Stabilization of Adults
Other family types are seen as dysfunctional.
What are is a criticism of the Functionalist view?
Society still is functional with different family types with no society collapse.
How do the New Right view family diversity?
They argue that that the only family is the traditional nuclear family, with a clear division of labor based on clear biological differences.
View other family types as bringing societies problems e.g lone parent families.
What do the New Right suggest about cohabitation over marriage?
Benson (2006) - there is an increased family breakdown with cohabitation couples compare to when married.
What are criticisms of Bensons (2006) study?
Divorce rates have increased which do not support the stability of marriage.
What did Oakley (1997) suggest about the New Right view?
That they were wrong:
- Family roles are not biological.
- Patriarchal families oppress women and keeps them dependent.
- Cohabitation may lead to marriage and may be temporary
What did SMART (2004) suggest?
That poverty may be the cause of marriage breakdown and cohabitation is higher in poorer social groups.
What did Giddens (1992) argue about choice and equality in family diversity?
- Choices in relationship type has occurred due to contraception and the influence of feminism (increased opportunities).
- The family is not governed by laws but how the individuals define them.
What was a key concept that Giddens (1992) suggested?
The idea of pure relationships that are the normal in a modern relationship that has formed due to changing attitudes.
With this said the more choice and not being bound by traditional values e.g sense of duty has lead to some more instability.
What did Beck (1992) suggest about the Negotiated Family?
- We live in a risk society, with traditional views losing influence.
- Traditional structures were based in patriarchy, changed due to gender equality challenge this.
- Negotiated families with negotiated roles between partners, leads to more instability.
- Creation of the Zombie family in uncertain times, where people look to it for stability, although the modern family is unstable.
What is the postmodern view of family diversity?
- Individuals take a fragmented view of their identity and what constitute a family, due to rapid social change has lead to instability.
- Cheal (1993) this fragmentation and choice affects how people construct their lives. Lightly to increase instability, although given more choice.
What did Stacey (1998) postmodern family suggest?
- More freedom reduces patriarchy for women to choose family structures.
- The new divorce extended family, connected from divorce over marriage with females with closer links e.g mother in law.
What did Morgan (2011) suggest (Post-modern)?
Large generalizations cannot be made about the family it is about individual choice, and what suits their current lifestyle.
