Types of families

Question 1

Nuclear families

Answer 1

Nuclear families consist of a father, mother and one or more children (can be biological or adopted). It is the typical family structure in Western industrial societies.

Murdock- the nuclear family is the basis of the family unit.

The number of nuclear families is decreasing because of higher divorce rates, more cohabiting, and public attitudes.

Question 2

Extended families

Answer 2

Extended families include relatives beyond the nuclear family e.g. grandparents, uncles, cousins.

Used to be very important in working-class communities. Fastest growing type of household.

Young and Willmott (1973)- argued that the symmetrical family (where males and females share roles) has become more dominant.

Beck (1995)- undergoing a process of individualization; not following the norms laid by tradition.

Accounts for less than 19% of households because of better transport, technology (allowing the family to see each other easier and not necessarily having to live together.

Question 3

Lone-parent families

Answer 3

Lone-parent families are where at least one child is living with one parent. Usually the mother in 19% of these.
Represent 25% of all families with a child.
Millennium Cohort Study - a study following families of children born in 2000. 7% remained lone parents, 3.9% cohabiting and 1/9% married.
Increase in divorce rates.

Question 4

Reconstituted families

Answer 4

Reconstituted families are where a couple forms a family with at least one child from a previous relationship. Stepparents, stepchildren.
11% of couple families with children are reconstituted.
Grant (2006)- Men are increasingly likely to be living with other women’s’ children whilst their own grow up elsewhere.
Increase in divorce rates, marriage rate decreasing.

Question 5

Same-sex families

Answer 5

Same-sex families are homosexual relationships with one or more (adopted) children.
1967- homosexual relationships between men were legalized in England and Wales.
2005- able to form civil partnerships.
2013- same-sex marriages
Make up a tiny minority of the UK.
Guasp (2010)- Different families- very young children with gay parents tend to not see their families as different from their peers.
Acceptance, public attitudes, law changes, and growth have all contributed to the increase in same-sex families.

Question 6

Non-family households

Answer 6

Non-family households are households that consist of either a householder living alone or where the householder shares the house with people they are not related to e.g. friends.
7.8 million households of one person living alone in 2013.
On the increase, e.g. uni students sharing accomodation
Klinenberg- “the cult of the individual”- individuals are more focused on their own needs rather than their role in larger social structures e.g. families.
Cultural pressure= to be ‘good to oneself’.
Adam Smith (2005)- from 1991 to 2002, only 7% of those studied remained living alone during the 10 years.

Question 7

LATS (Living Apart Together)

Answer 7

LATS are couples who have a relationship without cohabiting, they may live near each other or far apart.
Can be families that live apart e.g. elderly population and their children.
LAT couples account for around 10% of adults. 1/4 not married.
Levin (2006)- LATS is a newly-emerged form of family that allows individuals to enjoy a relationship without living together.
Hashey and Lewis (2006)- living apart togehr= simply a prelude to cohabitation/marriage.

Question 8

Murdock (1949)

Answer 8

The family is characterized by common residence, economic co-operation, and reproduction.

Question 9

Talcott Parsons- 20th-century sociologist

Answer 9

Functionalist- argued that the process of industrialization caused huge changes in the structure and roles of the family. The nuclear family was created.

Question 10

Warm bath theory- Parsons

Answer 10

The idea that parents can come home from work and relax into his family like a warm bath and relieve all the stress and refresh themselves for the next day.
The stress gets soaked away.

Question 11

Heteronorm

Answer 11

The expectation that heterosexuality is the normal basis for relationships and families.

Roseneil and Budgeon (2004)- the breakdown of the heteronorm is the idea that the traditional norm of heterosexuality being the basis for relationships and families is losing its’ importance as the nuclear family structure is in decline.

Question 12

Marriage

Answer 12

Marriage declined in popularity- ONS(2012)- 262,240 marriages, compared to ONS(1940)- 470,549 marriages
This is despite the population growth.
Marriage is traditionally based on monogamy.
ONS (2012)- 70% of marriages were civil ceremonies
The average age of married- increased from 25 to 36 (1960-2017).
The decline of church/religious weddings, only 22% in 2017.

Question 13

Cohabitation

Answer 13

The number of couples cohabiting has increased since the 1970s.
1996-6.5% cohabiting over 16. 2012- 11.7%
“try before you buy”
Jamieson (2002)- cohabitation is an alternative form of commitment

Question 14

Singlehood

Answer 14

Being single- used to be regarded as negative- “spinster”.
Now it is simple and glamorous.
Creative singlehood- people choose to remain single as a lifestyle option.
Hall (1999)- single people find freedom in being single and able to focus on their own careers.
Heath (2004)- the rise of the ‘kippers’- people who continue to live with their parents because they don’t want the financial burden of living alone.

Question 15

Divorce

Answer 15

43.9% of marriages in 1987 ended in divorce.
1969 Divorce Reform Act- couples now only had to show marriage had broken down.
The only way to get a divorce before 1857 was through an Act of Parliament.
Became cheaper, simpler, more available.

Question 16

Change in marriage- social attitudes

Answer 16

People are now more likely to cohabit.
Marrying later
Couples are less likely to marry in the church because of the decline in religious values.

Question 17

Changes in marriage-economic factors

Answer 17

The increased cost of living and the cost of weddings are fuelling the decrease in marriage.
Most couples have to choose between getting married or buying their first house.

Question 18

Changes in marriage- gender roles

Answer 18

Liberal feminists- changing gender roles are one of the main factors why couples get married later.
Women no longer need to be married to be financially stable.

Question 19

Changes in marriage- The New Right

Answer 19

The decline in marriage is because of moral decline.

People are unable to commit to each other- bad for society and the socialization of the next generation.

Question 20

Changes in marriage- Postmodernism

Answer 20

The decline in marriage- we are used to being consumers and picking & choosing, so marriage is now a matter of individual choice.
A decline in religion and tradition.

Question 21

Beck and Beck

Answer 21

Increase in risk consciousness- people are less willing to take the risk of getting married as they see that almost 1/2 end in divorce.
Individualization- our individual desires are more important than social commitments.

Question 22

Privatized nuclear family

Answer 22

Parson and Bales (1955)- modern American families have become structurally isolated from extended family.
Leach (1967)- the nuclear family was the “source of all discontent”

Question 23

Fletcher (1966)

Answer 23

Higher divorce rates are linked to a higher value being placed on marriage as they expect a more compassionate relationship.

Question 24

Gibson (1994)

Answer 24

Society had undergone a process of secularisation (where religious values have decreased in society)

Question 25

Confluent love

Answer 25

A type of love based on deep intimacy where partners gain emotional fulfillment.

Question 26

Duncombe and Marsden (1995)

Answer 26

Women who had been married for years- dissatisfied with men’s responsibilities in marriage.

Question 27

The symmetrical family

Answer 27

Young and Willmott (1973)- argued that the symmetrical family (where males and females share roles) has become more dominant.

Question 28

The continuing importance of marriage

Answer 28

Delaying marriage as opposed to rejecting it.
Cohabiting-leads to marriage
ONS (2012)- 1/3 of marriages were remarriages
Married couple families are still the most common type.

Question 29

Sharpe (1970) (1990)

Answer 29

Sharpe conducted 2 studies 20 years apart.
The first study- women prioritized love and marriage.
The second study- women prioritized education and careers.

Question 30

Government on marriage

Answer 30

The government encouraged marriage, children were taught about the problems of sex before marriage.
Tax system- offered lower taxes for married couples.
Conservatives (2000)- married tax allowance changed to child tax allowance.
“Anti- marriage bias” in the tax and benefits system.

Question 31

Fertility rate and TFR

Answer 31

The average number of children a woman would have in her lifetime.
TFR in 1900- 3.5
2001- 1.63
2012- 1.94
Has been a significant decline since the late 19th century.

Question 32

Crude birth rate

Answer 32

The number of births per 1,000 of the population per year.

Question 33

Mortality rate

Answer 33

The rate at which people are dying.
From 1830 onwards, the death rate in the UK decreased, and life expectancy increased.
Infant mortality in particular declined. 1901- 25% 2005- less than 1%
Families no longer need large numbers of kids of kids to ensure that some survive.

Question 34

Economic factors

Answer 34

19th century- children were an economic asset as they could go out and work.
Now- a financial burden.
Cost of having a child from 1-21= £337,266 (2015)

Question 35

Women’s opportunities

Answer 35

Huge expansion since the 1970s in opportunities in education and employment.