Topic 5 : Changing Family Patterns

Question 1

Statistics about the decline of marriage

Answer 1

Decline since 1969

2014 marriage rate was:
23/1000 for men
21/1000 for women

1972 marriage rate was:
78/1000 for men
61/1000 for women

Lowest marriage rate ever in 2013

Marriage is still popular - people are just getting married later

2013: average age at marriage for men was 33 and for women 31
1973: average age at marriage for men was 25 and for women 23

Question 2

Why has the marriage rate declined?

Answer 2

1. Social change and changing attitudes
2. Secularisation
3. Gender roles and feminist perspectives on marriage rates

Question 3

Reason 1 for declining marriage rates: Social change and changing attitudes

Answer 3

Brenda Almond - family is fragmenting
- less of a focus on children and more of a focus on individuals
- leads to people staying single / cohabiting
- not good for society

Giddens - people seeking pure relationship (late modern society)
- marriages can be ended through divorce, or people just wont get married
- leads to LATs / cohabitation
- not harmful for society - instead people now have greater fre

Evidence (AO2)
British Social Attitudes Survey
= between 1989-2012, people who agreed that people who want children should get married fem from 74% to 42%

Question 4

Reason 2: secularisation

Answer 4

Generally, religions are important in sanctifying marriage, but religious beliefs are declining

Statistics to support link between religion and attitudes to marriage: British Social Attitudes Survey
= younger generations are less attached to religion, explaining why marriage is declining

2001 census: 3% of young people with no religion were married, as opposed to 17% of those with a religion

2021 census: 37% of people declared they had no religion

Question 5

Reason 3: Gender roles and feminist perspectives on marriage rates

Answer 5

Ruspini = changing position of women means marriage rates are declining
- wider availability of contraception = greater control
- women’s liberation movement 1960s-70s = independence
- focus on education and careers
- no longer felt obliged to get married in order to have kids, or before they could pursue a career -> delay marriage / not get married at all
- women do less housework in cohabiting couples (incentive to not get married)

Question 6

Gender roles and feminist perspectives on marriage rates - analysis

Answer 6

Feminists see these as positive changes as they offer women more choices (Stacey) and freedom from patriarchal institution of marriage

New Right see these changes as undermining marriage

Morgan blames the welfare system for the fall in marriage rates
= makes it financially possible for women to become lone parents
= promotes perverse incentives for mothers to live on benefits

Question 7

Other reasons for the decline of marriage

Answer 7

Reduced functions of the family - marriage not seen as a practical necessity anymore as other institutions carry out the family’s functions

Risk society (beck)

Question 8

Remarriage and the growth of reconstituted families

Answer 8

1/3 of marriages now involve a remarriage for 1 or both partners

More divorced men remarry than divorced women - women fed up with marriage (dual burden and triple shift?)

ONS - 500,000 stepfamilies with dependent children in England and wales

1 in 10 dependent children live in a stepfamily in 2011

Question 9

Morgans view on cohabitation

Answer 9

Part of a worrying trend in which marriage is going out of fashion and the family is in serious decline

British household panel survey - fewer than 4% of cohabiting couples stay together for more than 10 years as cohabitants

Question 10

Chandler’s view on cohabitation

Answer 10

More people are choosing to cohabit as a long term alternative to marriage - reflected in the increasing proportion of children born out of marriage as partners no longer feel pressure to marry to legitimise a pregnancy

Question 11

Evidence of cohabitation

Answer 11

Data from General Household Survey:
1980-84 - 30% cohabited
2004-07 - 80%
Many relationships based on cohabitation lead to marriage - half of those who started cohabiting in 1995-99 were married 10 years later

ONS 2013 - 2.9m cohabiting couples

2011 census - 2001 - 1.8m, 2011 - 2.3m (30% increase)

Research suggests that cohabitation is a long term commitment
Beaujouan and Bhrolchain - increase in cohabitation is v similar to the decline in marriage
Consequently, there has been no significant reduction in the number of people entering partnerships (whether it be marriage or cohabitation)

Question 12

Why are more people cohabiting?

Answer 12

Women are better off - less need for financial security of marriage

Secularisation

Question 13

What does Robert Chester say about cohabitation

Answer 13

Cohabitation acts as a trial marriage

Question 14

What does Ernestina coast say about cohabitation

Answer 14

3/4 of cohabiting couples stated that they intend to marry

Question 15

What does Andre bejin say about cohabitation

Answer 15

It’s a way of negotiating more equal relationships where both partners retain some independence

Question 16

What is an alternative to marriage and cohabitation

Answer 16

LATs (Living Apart Together)

Where couples maintain their relationship despite living in separate places

LATs can be a solution to the modern day problem of needing independence but still wanting a meaningful relationship - this could be a genuine threat to traditional families and marriage

LATs can also be a necessity (working in different cities) - this isn’t a threat to the popularity of marriage or the stability of families

Question 17

Why are LATs on the rise?

Answer 17

• divorce and separation have increased - LATs have become an acceptable way of dealing from previous failed relationships
• growing individualisation and choice - may be more prone to seek out new partners
• modern technology - close contact can be maintained

Duncan and Phillips 2008 - 1 in 10 people are in LATs

Question 18

Why are people choosing LATs over marriage or cohabitation ?

Answer 18

1. Responsibility and care
   - the couple may have existing responsibilities for other people - don’t want a new relationship to get in the way of this
2. Practical reasons
   - both May work in different places - LATs avoid conflict for them
3. Risk
   - partners don’t want to repeat the same mistake twice
   - mutual satisfaction
   - focus on themselves

Question 19

Changes in childbearing

Answer 19

Families getting smaller / births dropping / women having children later

Why?
= changing role of women
= expensive to have children - £154,000 to raise a child to age 18
= Beck - growing individualisation

Question 20

Divorce rates since 1960s

Answer 20

1961 - 27,000
1994 - 180,000
2012 - 130,000

Question 21

Alternatives to divorce:

Answer 21

Desertion
Legal separation
Empty shell marriage - the couple continue to live under the same roof but remain married in name only

Since divorce has become more available these solutions have become less popular

Question 22

Why has the divorce rate increased?

Answer 22

1. The value of marriage has increased
2. Conflict between spouses - women’s increased financial independence
3. Rise of feminism
4. Modernity, freedom and choice also means more conflict
5. Ease of divorce - stigma has declined and divorce legislation has meant it’s easier to obtain

Question 23

Increased divorce rate: the value of marriage

Answer 23

Fletcher: (optimistic)
The higher expectations people place on marriage are a major cause of rising divorce rates. Higher expectations make couples less willing to tolerate an unhappy marriage

Links to romantic love (giddens)

Pre industrial society - people married for economic reasons. This means that people were less likely to have high expectations of marriage so less divorce

Question 24

Criticisms of the value of marriage as a reason for the increased divorce rate

Answer 24

Feminists say this is way too rosy a view

• they argue that the oppression of women within the family is the main cause of marital conflict and divorce, but functionalists ignore this
• fail to acknowledge why it’s mainly women rather than men who seek divorce

Question 25

Increased divorce rate: conflict between spouses (women’s financial increased independence)

Answer 25

Allen and Crow

• marriage less embedded in the economic system
• spouses not so financially interdependent
• this means that they do not have to tolerate each other in the absence of love - more willing to seek divorce

Anti discrimination laws have helped narrow the pay gap
Girls’ greater success in education help them to pursue different careers
Welfare benefits means women no longer have to remain financially dependent on their husbands (NR)

Feminists argue that women become wage earners has created a new source of conflict between husbands and wives and this is leading to more divorce

Question 26

Increased divorce rate: rise of feminism

Answer 26

Although there has been some reform in the workplace and education, change in the family home has been slower. Marriage remains patriarchal with men benefitting from the triple shift

Hochschild:
-For many women the home compares unfavourably to work
-At work, women feel valued and at home frustrated due to the pressures of housework and men’s resistance to helping in the home
-As more women work, this leaves less time for the emotional work needed to address problems - contributes to divorce

Sigle-Rushton:
-Working mothers are more likely to petition for divorce than women in relationships with a traditional division of labour

Barnard:
-Many women feel dissatisfaction with patriarchal marriage
-The evidence that most divorce petitions come from women shows their acceptance of feminist ideas and women becoming more confident in rejecting patriarchal oppression

Question 27

Increase in the divorce rate: Modernity and individualisation

Answer 27

Beck and Giddens - traditional norms (such as the duty to remain with the same partner for life) lose their meaning

As a result each individual becomes free to pursue their own self interest
= individualisation thesis

Giddens :
Relationships have become fragile and people are now willing to divorce - people seek a pure relationship

Modern society has:
- Normalised divorce
- Allowed women to pursue their own ambitions

However, this is not supported by empirical evidence

Question 28

Increase in divorce: ease of divorce and the declined stigma

Answer 28

2013 survey by YouGov
- almost 2/3 of people thought there was no longer stigma attached to divorce
- 18-24 yr olds less likely to say that divorce was taboo than 25-54 yr olds = liberal attitudes of younger generation

Secularisation:
Religious institutions losing influence on society
2001 census - 47% of those with no religion were cohabiting compared to 34% of Christians

Question 29

Increase in divorce: legislation

Answer 29

1969 - divorce reform act
This made the breakdown of marriage the sole ground for divorce

1966 - family law act encourages couples to seek mediation but allows divorce after a period of reflection

Question 30

AO3 analysis - perspectives on divorce

Answer 30

The new right:
See high divorce as undesirable as it undermines the traditional nuclear family. Creates an underclass of welfare dependent female lone parents and leaves boys without the male role model they need

Feminist:
See high divorce rate as desirable as it shows women breaking free of the oppression of patriarchy

Postmodernists:
View high divorce rate as giving individuals the freedom to choose to end a relationship when it no longer meets their needs. They see it as a cause of greater family diversity

Functionalists:
High divorce rate does not prove that marriage is under threat. It is a result of high expectations of marriage. High rate of re-marriage shows people’s commitment to the idea of marriage

Question 31

The ‘cereal packet’ family

Answer 31

Functionalist concept:
Idealised version of the family is the nuclear family of mother, father and two children

Ignores the fact that families have changed in structure and diversity

Question 32

Evidence to show that the cereal packet family does not represent the arrangement in which most people in Britain live

Answer 32

2013:

29% of HH consisted of one person living alone
2/3 of HH had no dependent children
11% of HH were lone parent

Question 33

Family and household diversity in Britain

Answer 33

Rapoports argue that diversity is of central importance in understanding family life

We have moved away from the NF as the dominant family type

British families have adapted to a pluralistic society - where cultures and lifestyles are more diverse - led to more freedom of choice with regards to family types

Rapoports see diversity as a positive response to people’s different needs, and not as abnormal

Question 34

Rapoports - 5 types of family diversity

Answer 34

1. Organisational diversity - variations in family structure and differences in the division of labour
2. Cultural diversity - different cultural, religious and ethnic groups have different family structures
3. Social class diversity - different classes = differences in family structure, roles and child-rearing practices
4. Life-stage diversity - individuals are likely to experience living in many types of family types throughout their life (link to haraven)
5. Cohort diversity - older and younger generations have different attitudes and experiences (eg rising house prices means it’s harder for young people to buy a house)

Question 35

Types of organisational diversity

Answer 35

Gay and lesbian HH

Friends living together

LATs

Beanpole families

Question 36

3 statistical patterns that show a long term trend towards family diversity

Answer 36

1996 - 2016

Opposite sex cohabitation
1996 - 9.3%
2016 - 17.1%

Lone parent family
1996 - 14.5%
2016 - 15.2%

Civil partner family
1996 - 0%
2016 - 0.2%

Question 37

AO3 analysis - why is there increased diversity? (Diff perspectives)

Answer 37

New Right: blame the over-generous self state

Liberal feminists: thank social policy and welcome the changes

Late and postmodernists: the family has lost its sense of exclusivity = people don’t expect to get married anymore (stigma attached to raising children in a non-NF has disappeared -> increased choice in a postmodern world - emergence of patchwork family -> greater individualisation has led to this as we have more choice, freedom and fluidity)

Question 38

What does Robert Chester say?

Answer 38

Extent of increasing family diversity has been exaggerated

Recognises that there has been some increased family diversity

However, (unlike NR) doesn’t see it in a negative light

Argues the only important change is a move from the dominance of the traditional NF to the neo-conventional family

Question 39

Who came up with the beanpole family

Answer 39

Brannen

Family has fewer siblings - leads to fewer cousins
Ageing population means increase in generations

(Long and thin)

Question 40

Sexuality, chosen families and diversity

Answer 40

Growth of LGBT families:
Legislation has led to the Civil Partnership (2005) and Same Sex Marriage (2014)
2005-2015 = 61,500 civil partnerships in the UK

Changing Attitudes of society:
Gay and lesbian couples are more egalitarian
Weeks et al = gay men and lesbians look upon their households and friendship networks as being CHOSEN FAMILIES (families by choice rather than by blood)
More choice = more diversity = more happiness for individuals

Is the ‘heteronorm’ breaking down?
Roseneil = ‘heteronorm’ is the belief that the normal form of intimate relationships is between heterosexuals, but this is breaking down
The shift has resulted because of the rise in divorce, increase in births outside of marriage and more social changes = more diversity

Question 41

An increase in lone parenthood - stats

Answer 41

The % of lone parent families has tripled in the UK since 1971

1 in 4 of all families with dependent children were lone parent in 2014 (9/10 headed by women)

Mothers are more likely to gain custody after a divorce (cultural norm - social construct)
Fathers may have abandoned the mother before the birth of the child

Question 42

Causes of more lone parent families

Answer 42

1. Greater economic independence of women
   - more job opportunities
   - more welfare support
   - marriage is less of a necessity compared to the past
2. Changing social attitudes
   - less social stigma attached to lone parenthood
   - women are therefore less afraid of the social consequences
   - link to secularisation
3. Improved contraception, changing male attitudes and fewer ‘shotgun’ weddings
   - wider availability of contraception, easier to access safe abortion = men may feel less responsibility to marry and support women if they become unintentionally pregnant
   - men don’t feel forced to marry (shotgun weddings)
4. Increase in divorce
   - increase in divorces = puts people off getting married again?
   - can link to economic independence = women now confident of undertaking the instrumental and express role

Question 43

The view that lone parenthood is an issue

Answer 43

NR blames over-generous welfare state for the growth of lone parenthood - formed an underclass relying on the state

Blamed for increase in crime, decline in the importance of family life and educational failure of children

Boys have no father figure - inadequate socialisation = turn to crime

Moral panics about lone parenthood
= gov responded by introducing Child Support Agency (making absent fathers pay child support to relieve the burden from the state)

McLanahan and Booth - studies have suggested that the children of lone parents suffer more from psychological problems and experience less social success than other children

Question 44

Is the NR view on lone parenthood correct?

Answer 44

Dermott and Pomati found:

1. Lone parents are more likely to sit and eat a meal with their children everyday than coupled parents
2. Lone parents are more likely to cut down on personal spending than coupled parents

They found that there is no significant difference in the extent to which lone and couple parents engage in ‘good’ parenting

Question 45

Single person HH

Answer 45

May be formed due to divorce, separation, break up of cohabiting couples or death of a partner

Or people may choose to live alone

Becoming more common = between 1972-2016 they rose from 18% to 28.4% (ONS 2016)

Why has there been an increase?
1. Ageing population = older people living longer - inevitable that they’ll live alone at some point
2. Younger people moving out more quickly - more individualisation (beck)
3. Women’s increased financial independence - no more stigma attached

Question 46

Statistical evidence for different HH types in different ethnic groups

Answer 46

Labour Force Survey (2009)

1. 11% of Pakistani, 14% of Bangladesh and 7% of Indian HH consisted of lone parent families with dependent children, compared with 28% Black Caribbean and 22% Black African families
2. British Asians more likely to live in extended families and Black Caribbeans more likely to live in lone parent families

Question 47

Berthoud - family diversity and ethnicity

Answer 47

1. British South Asian
   - traditional family life
   - high rates of marriage
   - low divorce rates
   - parents tend to move in with children
2. White British
   - lower marriage rates and smaller family sizes
   - less likely to live with parents once married
   - quite high rates of divorce
3. British Caribbean
   - much lower rates of marriage
   - high rates of lone parenthood (matrifocal HH)

Question 48

South Asian families

Answer 48

Ballard:
Extended families are more common in south Asian families

Based on old fashioned values - commitment to marriage, family loyalty, births within marriage, gender roles

3/4 of Pakistani and Bangladeshi women are married by age 25 compared to 50% of white women

Divorce rates are low because of social disapproval

AO3:
But changing attitudes in younger generations is leading to conflict in families

Qureshi et al - British Pakistani families were becoming more accepting of divorce. Less likely to remain in extended families.

Question 49

Caribbean families

Answer 49

Berthoud:
Sees family life in Caribbean community as based on modern individualism
= emphasises choices and independence rather than duty and tradition

Marriage is an option not an obligation

Low rates of marriage, high rates of lone parenthood

Mixed partnerships are common

High level of lone parenthood for Caribbean women
= due to cultural tradition and high rates of black male unemployment (AO3 for this: Caribbean community has Christian marriage which is more religious and economically successful)