Changing Patterns of Family Life

Question 1

(1) Fewer People Are Getting Married: Changing Social Attitudes

Answer 1

• Less pressure to get married, socially acceptable to be an unmarried couple
• Many view marriage as ‘just a piece of paper’ and choose to cohabit (without the legal responsibilities of marriage) which has become the norm
• Postmodernists - fewer people are getting married because of growing individualism, people have a greater freedom of choice, able to choose relationships that fulfill their emotional and sexual needs, no longer expected to get married

Question 2

(1) Fewer People Are Getting Marries: Secularisation

Answer 2

• Society is less influenced by religious beliefs
• Fewer couples are getting married because there is no need or requirement to marry for religious reasons
• Traditional religious beliefs that sex outside of marriage is a sin have less impact on society
• Only 25% of marriages involve a religious ceremony, a growing number of couples choose to cohabit rather than getting married

Question 3

(1) Fewer People Are Getting Married: Fear of Divorce

Answer 3

• 42% of all marriages today end in divorce
• Postmodernist (Beck) - argues that we live in a risk society (nothing is permanent) and we are affected by the risk of divorce
• Marriage is based on confluent love rather than being viewed as a life long commitment
• People will consider divorce if the marriage is unfulfilling or the couple fall out of love
• There is a higher risk of marriages ending in divorce

Question 4

(1) Fewer People Are Getting Married: Changes in the Position of Women

Answer 4

• Most women are financially independent because they have careers
• Women no longer have to marry for financial reasons like they had to in the past for financial security
• Many women choose to not marry and focus on their careers instead, there has been a rise in singlehood
• Radical Feminists - marriage remains patriarchal as wives are oppressed
• Women are less willing to take on the demands associated with the housewife-mother role which usually comes with marriage -> discourages women from getting married, may want to focus on their careers and not get trapped in the home due to marriage

Question 5

(1) Increase in the Number of Re-Marriages: 3 Reasons

Answer 5

• Consequence of the rising divorce rate
  • 80% marry after a divorce, functionalists believe that the higher rate of re-marriages shows that people have higher standards of marriage (remains a valued institution)
• Changing social attitudes
  • It is viewed as acceptable to divorce and re-marry, no stigma (social disapproval), postmodernists believe people re-marry in pursuit of the ‘pure relationship’ that meets their emotional and sexual needs
• Secularisation
  • Religion is losing its influence in society and fewer couples see it as a permanent binding contract with God, so people are free to re-marry

Question 6

(1) People Are Marrying Later in Life: 3 Reasons

Answer 6

• Cohabit first
  • Many couples will live together to first test their compatibility before deciding whether to get married
• Marry after the birth of children
  • Secularisation means that traditional religious beliefs about having children outside of marriage have less impact on society, children born out of wedlock are no longer viewed as illegitimate, it is seen as normal to have children outside of marriage due to changing social attitudes
• Changes in the position of women
  • Many women want to establish their careers first and achieve financial stability before marriage
  • Wilkinson argues that there has been a ‘gender quake’ in women’s attitudes towards marriage, young women delay marriage

Question 7

(2) Cohabitation: Changing Role of Women

Question 8

(2) Cohabitation: Changing Social Attitudes

Question 9

(2) Cohabitation: Growing Secularisation

Question 10

(2) Cohabitation: Fear of Divorce

Question 11

(2) Cohabitation: Reducing Risk