1.3.5 Families and Households: Changing Patterns and Family Diversity Flashcards
(39 cards)
1
Q
The Extended Family Today
Cheal
A
- Rules around obligation to assist : spouse, daughter, daughter in law, son, others.
- Sons are rarely chosen for health support and daughters rarely chosen for financial support.
2
Q
The Extended Family Today
Brannen
A
- ‘beanpole’ family - extended vertically but not horizontally.
- Emerged as a result of higher life expectancy and lower family sizes.
3
Q
The Extended Family Today
Chamberlain (1999)
A
- Studied Caribbean families and found that despite being geographically dispersed, they continue to provide support. ‘Multiple nuclear families’.
- lol
4
Q
The Extended Family Today
Willmott (1988)
A
- Extended family continues to exist as a ‘dispersed extended family’ where relatives are geographically seperated but maintain frequent contact.
:)
5
Q
The Extended Family Today
Charles (2008)
A
Studies families in Swansea and found that the multi generational family is ‘all but extinct’ except in the Bangledeshi community.
6
Q
Divorce
Explanations for the increase in divorce
(7)
A
- Changes in the law
- Declining stigma and changing attitudes
- Secularisation
- Rising expectations of marriage
- Women’s increased financial independence
- Feminist explanations
- Modernity and Individualisation
7
Q
Divorce
Smart (2011)
A
- Personal life perspective
- Divorce can become normalised and family life can adapt to it without disintigrating.
- A transition rather than a problem.
8
Q
Divorce
Morgan (1996)
A
- Interractionalist
- We cannot generalise around the meaning of divorce as it is different for everyone.
9
Q
Divorce
‘Pure relationship’ definition and which theorists coined it?
A
- Beck and Giddens - individualists
- A relationship which seeks to satisfy the partner’s romantic needs, not under obligation from society / kids / norms
10
Q
Divorce
Bernard (1976)
A
- Radical feminist
- Women are becoming more conscious of patriarchal oppression and more confident in rejecting it, leading to higher divorce rates.
11
Q
Divorce
Cooke and Gash (2010)
(Criticise Sigle Rushton)
A
Found no evidence that working women are more likely to divorce because women working has become the norm.
12
Q
Divorce
Hochschild (1997) which links to Sigle Rushton’s findings
A
- Hochschild - Women feel more valued at work then they do at home. Men’s reluctance to do housework is a source of frustration.
- Sigle Rushton - Mothers with a dual burden are more likely to divorce then those who do all, or none of the housework.
13
Q
Divorce
Fletcher (1966)
A
- Higher divorce rate is a result of the higher expectations which people place on marriage, leading to a couple being less willing to tolerate an unhappy marriage
14
Q
Divorce
What date what the Divorce Law Reform Act and what did it change?
A
- 1969
- Made the ‘irrotrieval breakdown’ of marriage the sole ground for divorce.
15
Q
Ethnic Differences in Family Patterns
Matrifocal definition
A
Female headed family
16
Q
Ethnic Differences in Family Patterns
Reynolds (2010)
A
- Argues that statistics are misleading and that many of the black women headed families classed as single are actually in supportive LAT relationships.
slay
17
Q
Ethnic Differences in Family Patterns
Heidi Mirza (1997)
A
- The high rate of lone parent families amongst blacks is not a result of disorganisation, but of the high value black women place on independence.
- icon
18
Q
Ethnic Differences in Family Patterns
Why is it more common for Asian families to be multi generational?
(3)
A
- Younger age profile of British Asians, since a higher proportion are of childbearing age in comparison to the population as a whole.
- High value places on extended family.
- Need for assistence when migrating.
19
Q
Ethnic Differences in Family Patterns
Reasons for more black lone parents
(3)
A
- The legacy of slavery - couples were separated and the children went with the mother, establishing a matrifocal pattern.
- High male unemployment
- Black women valuing independence more highly.
20
Q
Ethnic Differences in Family Patterns
What percentage of Black families are lone parent?
A
49%
21
Q
Partnerships
What government policies are there for same sex?
A
Same Sex Couples act 2013 gave same sex couples the right to marry.
22
Q
Partnerships
Duncan and Phillips for the British Social Attitudes survey (2013) - LATs
A
- 1 in 10 adults are in LATs (which is half the number classified as single).
- ‘too early’ to cohabit, wanted to keep own home, past relationship trauma
23
Q
Partnerships
Same sex
Weston (1992)
A
- describes same sex cohabitation as ‘quasi-marriage’
- Cohabiting contrasts gay lifestyle of casual relationships in the past.
24
Q
Partnerships
Same Sex
Stonewall (2012)
A
- 5 to 7% of the adult population are in same sex relationships.
- Cannot judge whether this is an increase or decrease due to past stigmas and laws.
25
# Partnerships
Cohabitation
*Bejin (1985)*
Cohabitation amoungst young people represents a conscious choice to create a more personally negotiated and equal relationship then patriarchal marriage.
26
# Partnerships
Cohabitation
*Chester
Coast (2006)*
| (Relating theorists)
**Chester**
* Cohabiting can be seen as a 'trial marriage' which is part of the process of getting married.
**Coast**
* - 75% of cohabting couples say they intend to marry each other.
27
# Partnerships
Cohabiting statistics
| (2)
* 1 in 8 couples are cohabiting
* Estimated 2.9 million cohabiting couples in Britain
28
# Family Diversity
Rapoport's five types of diversity (CLOGS)
1. Cultural - e.g ethnic groups have different family structures
1. Life cycle differences - e.g pensioner couples, newlyweds, young couple with kids
1. Organisational - e.g joint or conjugal roles
1. Generational differences - e.g in attitudes towards cohabitation
1. Social class - e.g differences based on resources
29
# Family Diversity
Chester
* Although there is some increased diversity, the nuclear family remains dominant.
* Neo-conventional family - where both families work (like the symmetrical family)
* The nuclear family remains the norm that people aspire to and many of those not in a nuclear family have been or will.
30
# Family Diversity
The New Right
| (3)
* Sees the patriarchal nuclear family as the only normal one and all other as abnormal / problematic.
* Believe in intrumental and expressive roles based on biology.
* Believe lone parents are problematic as they cannot discipline children, don't provide a male father figure, and are poor so a burden on the welfare state.
31
# Family Diversity
Parsons
*functionalist*
| (functional fit and irreducible functions)
* 'functional fit' between modern society and nuclear family.
* Nuclear family allows for a gepgraphically and socially mobile workforce.
* two 'irreducible functions' - the primary socialisation of children and the stabilisation of adult personalities.
32
# Family Diversity
Which perspectives are considered modernist?
| (2)
* Functionalism
* The New Right
33
# Postmodernism and family diversity
Explain the 'connectedness thesis' and name the theorist.
* Smart
* Argues decisions are made within a "web of connectedness"
* Argues that personal histories and relationships all strongly influence our current relationships and obligations.
34
# Postmodernism and family diversity
What are the criticisms of the individualisation thesis?
| (3)
* Exaggerates how much choice people really have
* Ignores that our decisions are made in a social context
* Ignores the importance of social structures (class inequalities, gender norms) in influencing relationships.
35
# Postmodernism and family diversity
How does Beck describe postmodern society and the impact on family?
Argues that we now live in a
'**risk society**'
where people calculate the risks and rewards before making decisions
The '**negotiated family**' is not fixed but varies according to its members, making it less stable
36
# Postmodernism and family diversity
Describe the 'pure relationship' and who theorised it?
* Giddens
* The 'pure relationship' is one that exists in postmodern society purely to satisfy the partner's needs, not under obligation.
* Only survives as long as it brings satisfaction to each partner
37
# Postmodernism and family diversity
Describe the individualisation thesis and the sociologists that came up with it.
* Giddens and Beck
* The individualisation thesis argues that traditional social structures, such as class, gender, and family, have lost their influence over society. This gives individuals more choice over their relationships.
38
# Postmodernism and family diversity
Stacey
* Argues that more freedom and choice has benefited women as they have freed themselves from patriarchal oppression.
* Found women in California were working, improving their education. improving job prospects, divorced.
* Identified the 'divorce extended family' in which family members are connected by divorce.
39
# Postmodernism and family diversity
Explain postmodern society
A society past the 'modern' society with its orderly structures (e.g. nuclear family), into a chaotic postmodern society with no dominant family type, but choice in relationship style.
