Untitled Deck Flashcards
Outline two reasons for the decline in marriage rates in the UK since the 1970s.
Increased social acceptance of cohabitation as an alternative to marriage.
Rising individualism and focus on personal career goals before settling down.
Explain what sociologists mean by the term ‘family diversity’.
Family diversity refers to the variety of family structures and household types in society, moving away from the traditional nuclear family model. This includes single-parent families, same-sex families, and extended families.
Evaluate the functionalist perspective on the role of the family in society.
Strengths: Explains how family contributes to social stability through socialization and regulation of sexual behavior.
Limitations: Ignores family diversity and potential dysfunctions like domestic violence.
Outline two ways in which gender roles within families have changed in recent decades.
Increased participation of women in the labor market, leading to more dual-earner households.
Greater involvement of fathers in childcare and domestic tasks.
Analyse the impact of divorce on children’s life chances.
Potential negative impacts include emotional distress and reduced economic resources.
However, outcomes vary, and some children may benefit from leaving high-conflict households.
Explain the difference between serial monogamy and polygamy.
Serial monogamy refers to having multiple marriages or long-term relationships sequentially over time. Polygamy involves being married to more than one person simultaneously.
Evaluate feminist perspectives on the family.
Strengths: Highlights gender inequalities within families and the exploitation of women’s domestic labor.
Limitations: May overlook positive aspects of family life and changes in gender roles over time.
Outline two reasons for the increase in lone-parent families.
Rising divorce rates leading to more single parents.
Increased social acceptance of childbearing outside of marriage.
Analyse the impact of government policies on family life.
Policies like parental leave can promote gender equality in childcare.
Welfare policies may influence family formation and fertility decisions.
Explain what sociologists mean by ‘the dark side of family life’.
This refers to negative aspects of family life often hidden from public view, such as domestic violence, child abuse, and elder abuse within families.
Evaluate the New Right perspective on the family.
Strengths: Emphasizes the importance of traditional family values for social stability.
Limitations: Ignores the benefits of family diversity and may promote discriminatory views.
Outline two reasons for the increase in reconstituted families.
Higher divorce rates leading to remarriage and blended families.
Greater social acceptance of new family forms.
Analyse the relationship between family structure and social class.
Middle-class families more likely to be nuclear, with resources for childcare and education.
Working-class families more likely to rely on extended family networks for support.
Explain the concept of ‘family practices’ (Morgan).
Family practices refer to the everyday activities and interactions that constitute ‘doing’ family, rather than focusing on static family structures or roles.
Evaluate the view that childhood is a social construction.
Evidence: Childhood varies across cultures and historical periods.
Counter-argument: Biological factors also play a role in defining childhood.
Outline two demographic trends affecting family life in the UK.
Ageing population leading to increased care responsibilities for families.
Delayed childbearing due to educational and career pursuits.
Analyse the impact of technology on family relationships.
Positive: Facilitates communication in long-distance families.
Negative: Can reduce face-to-face interactions within households.
Explain what is meant by ‘the symmetrical family’ (Young and Willmott).
The symmetrical family refers to a family structure where roles are more equally shared between partners, with both contributing to breadwinning and domestic tasks.
Evaluate Marxist perspectives on the family.
Strengths: Highlights how families reproduce class inequalities and serve capitalist interests.
Limitations: May oversimplify family dynamics and ignore emotional aspects of family life.
Analyse the reasons for changes in the birth rate in the UK since 1900.
Decline due to improved contraception and women’s increased participation in education and work.
Recent slight increases linked to immigration and delayed childbearing.
