Changing Family Patterns

Question 1

What percentage of all marriages end in divorce?

Answer 1

40%

Question 2

What percentage of petitions for divorce come from women?

Answer 2

65%

Question 3

How has changes in the law led to an increase in divorce?

Answer 3

Equalsisnmg the grounds for divorce between the sexes
Widening the grounds for divorce-when ‘irretrievable breakdown’ was brought in petitions doubled over night
Making divorce cheaper

Question 4

What other solutions are there instead of divorce?

Answer 4

Desertion
Legal separation
‘Empty shell’ marriage

Question 5

How has declining stigma and changing attitudes caused the increase in divorce?

Answer 5

Divorce was stigmatised in the past. As it becomes more socially acceptable, more are willing to resort to divorce

Question 6

How has secularisation caused the increase in divorce?

Answer 6

Religion is losing its influence. People are less likely to be influenced by religious teachings when making their decisions

Question 7

How does rising expectations so marriage cause increased divorce?

Answer 7

Functionalists like Fletcher argue that the higher expectations people place on marriage today means they are less willing to tolerate an unhappy marriage. The ideology that marriage should be based solely on love, unlike in the past when it had economic reasons and duties.
Fletcher points to the the continuing popularity of marriage with a high rate of remarriage

Question 8

How does women’s increased financial independence cause increased divorce?

Answer 8

Women are no longer financially dependent on men so are free to end an unsatisfactory marriage

Question 9

How do feminists explain the cause for higher divorce?

Answer 9

Married women have a dual burden, creating a new source of conflict in marriage, causing divorce. At work women feel valued, at home men’s continuing refusal to do housework causes frustration and an unstable marriage. The fact that both partners work leaves less time end energy for emotion work in the marriage.

Question 10

what does Beck and Giddens say about the cause of rising divorce?

Answer 10

In modern society, the idea to remain with the same partner your whole life no longer has a hold over individuals. They are free to persue their own self interest. This is called the individualisation thesis. Relationships become more fragile because become unwilling to remain if it fails to deliver personal fulfilment. They seek a pure relationship- one that exists solely to satisfy needs and not out of duty or tradition. This results in higher divorce rate.

Question 11

What the new right think about the high divorce rate?

Answer 11

Undesirable because it undermines marriage and the traditional nuclear family which is vital to social stability. High divorce creates an underclass of welfare dependent female lone parents that are a burden to the state and leave boys without a male role model.

Question 12

What do feminists think about the high divorce rate?

Answer 12

Desirable because it shows women are breaking free fro oppression of the patriarchal nuclear family

Question 13

What do postmodernists and the individualisation thesis think about the high divorce rate?

Answer 13

Shows that individuals have the freedom to end relationships if it doesn’t not fit their needs. Major cause of greater family diversity

Question 14

What do functionalists think about the high divorce rate?

Answer 14

Not a threat to marriage as a social institution, simply higher expectations. Remarriage shows people still like the idea of marriage

Question 15

What do interactionists think about the high divorce rate?

Answer 15

Aim to understand what divorce means to the individual. We cannot generalise

Question 16

What does the personal life perspective think about the high divorce rate?

Answer 16

Accepts that divorce can cause problems, financial difficulties and lack of contact with children. However divorce has become normalised and family life can adapt to it

Question 17

What changes in the pattern of marriage have there been in recent years?

Answer 17

Fewer people are marrying
More remarriage - ‘serial monogamy’
People are marrying later
Couples are less likely to marry in church

Question 18

What are the reasons for changing patterns of marriage?

Answer 18

First marriages-
Changing attitudes to marriage- less pressure
Secularisation
Declining stigma attached to alternatives to marriage
Changes in position of women
Fear of divorce

Question 19

How many couples are cohabiting?

Answer 19

One in eight

Question 20

Why has cohabitation increased?

Answer 20

Decline in stigma
Increased career opportunities mean women have financial security to cohabit
Secularisation

Question 21

What has changed for same sex relationships?

Answer 21

Homosexual acts decriminalised
Age of consent equalised
Able to marry

Question 22

What are chosen families?

Answer 22

Families created on the idea of ‘Friendship as kinship’

Popular with homosexuals

Question 23

What has happened to the amount of people living alone?

Answer 23

Big rise

Three in ten households contained only one person

Question 24

What has caused more one person households

Answer 24

The increase in separation and divorce

People remain single

Question 25

What is happening to childbearing rates?

Answer 25

More children are now born outside of marriage because of less stigma and increased cohabitation Women are having children later Women are having fewer children Women are remaining childless because now have more options than just motherhood

Question 26

How many children live Ina lone parent family?

Answer 26

1 in 4 Nearly all headed by women More likely to live in poverty

Question 27

Why is there more lone parent families?

Answer 27

Increased divorce | Never married women having children

Question 28

Why are lone parent families always headed by a woman?

Answer 28

Belief that women are suited to the expressive role Divorce courts usually give custody to the mother Men may be less willing to give up work to care for children Some may be single by choice

Question 29

What does Charles Murray think of lone parents?

Answer 29

Resulting from an overgenerous welfare state This has created a 'perverse incentive'- it rewards irresponsible behaviour like having children without being able to provide for them. The welfare state creates 'culture of dependency' in which people assume the state will provide for them

Question 30

What's the solution for Murray?

Answer 30

Abolish welfare benefits. This would reduce the dependency culture that encourages births outside marriage

Question 31

Why are lone parents more likely to be in poverty, criticising Murray?

Answer 31

Lack of affordable childcare prevents mothers from working Inadequate welfare benefits Most lone parents are women who earn less than men Failure of fathers to pay maintenance

Question 32

What ethnicity group has a high proportion of lone parent households?

Answer 32

Black Caribbean and African

Question 33

Why do some argue black female lone parent families are high?

Answer 33

Family disorganisation from slavery- couples were sold separately and children stayed with the mothers. This established a pattern of family life that persists today. Unemployment means black fathers are less likely to provide for their family, resulting in martial breakdown and desertion Mirza disagrees with this, arguing it is the high value women put on independence

Question 34

What did Willmott argue about extended families?

Answer 34

They continue to exist as a 'dispersed extended family'. Relatives are geographically separated but maintain frequent contact through visits and phone calls

Question 35

What is a beanpole family?

Answer 35

Through 3 or more generations but not including aunts and uncles etc

Question 36

What are beanpole families the result of?>

Answer 36

Increased life expectancy | Smaller family sizes