Families and households - Changing Family Patterns

Question 1

How has number of yearly divorces changed over time?

Answer 1

Number of divorces has more than tripled since the 60’s at 80,000 in 2023

Question 2

How has % of divorces petitions from women changed over time

Answer 2

% of divorce petitions from women has almost doubled ince the 40’s to 63% in 2021.

Question 3

What couples are most likely to get divorced?

Answer 3

• Those who marry young
• Those with an illegitimate child
• Those who cohabit before marriage
• Those containing one who has already been married

Question 4

What were the historical flashpoints for divorce and why?

Answer 4

1949: Legal aid makes divorce cheaper
1972: Divorce Reform Act comes into effect and establishes principle of ‘irretrievable differences’
1993: Previous reasons + changing attitudes

Question 5

What are the 7 explanations for the increase in divorce?

Answer 5

• Law
• Attitudes
• Secularisation
• Rising expectations of marriage
• Women’s increased financial independence
• Feminist explanations
• Individualism

Question 6

What are the three main changes in law that have increased divorce? What is the issue?

Answer 6

• Equalising the grounds between sexes (1923)
• Legal aid making divorce cheaper (1949)
• Widening the grounds (‘irretrievable differences’) (1969)
  Although it is easier get divorced, it doesn’t explain why people are choosing to take it up, it’s not holistic.

Question 7

What were the perspectives on divorce in the 1950’s?

Answer 7

Divorce was a desertion of traditional gender roles and ideas: a husband who wanted a divorce was abandoning his post as ‘man of the house’ and a woman was deserting the ‘loving wife’ and ‘caring mother’ post. It was also believed more heavily that children require two parents to properly develop and be socialised.

Question 8

Mitchell and Goody (1997) and divorce stigma:

Answer 8

Declining stigma towards divorce is a significant factor behind its increase - as it becomes less stigmatised, the social cost of divorce declines and people’s social lives and support networks are less negatively affected by divorce, giving them a safety net to fall back on and feel like they won’t lose everything.

Question 9

How has society become secularised?

Answer 9

• Fewer people hold strong, traditional religious values (less than 50% Christian in 2023)
• Religious institutions hold less control in public sectors (Parsons (1951) and structural differentiation)
• Diversity of religion (immigration)

Question 10

How does secularisation cause an increase in divorce?

Answer 10

Religions which have traditionally opposed divorce as breaking a vow to God have lost power, meaning their condemnation is largely weightless as its lost its sacred canopy and has less official power to enforce or socialise it.

Question 11

Fletcher (1966) and rising expectations:

Answer 11

Rising expectations of marriage,and expectations of love, make couples more willing to divorce if unhappy in their relationship - previously, people had very little choice over who they married and it was often on an economic and biological basis rather than based on love; as such, as long as the economics or biology were stil there, there was little reason to leave.

Question 12

Alan and Crow (2001) and the ‘cornerstones of marriage’:

Answer 12

‘Love, personal commitment and intrinsic satisfaction’, the absence of which is justification for divorce.

Question 13

What are the different perspectives on the rising expectations of marriage?

Answer 13

• Functionalists like Fletcher are positive, they point to the high remarriage rate, arguing that this is not a rejection of marriage, rather of non-suitable individuals.
• Feminists argue that, although functionalists can explain why there are increasing divorces, its view is too rosy to explain why its mostly women asking for divorces - a symptom of heterosexual marriage being a patriarchal and oppressive institution that women seek to escape.

Question 14

How does women’s increased economic independence increase divorce?

Answer 14

Women now have the resources to leave their husbands and fesibly survive with their own wage - this also socialises girls into the idea that they should be on an equal footing with their partner.

Question 15

Give an example of women being more financially independent.

Answer 15

Women are paid the most from the ages of 40-49 (£36,000 in 2024), the average age of divorce in 2019 was 45-49 (11%)

Question 16

Allan and Crow (2001) and marriage and economics:

Answer 16

“Marriage is less embedded within the economic system,” and families are no longer units of production so couples are less reliant on staying together for their wage.

Question 17

Single-Rushton (ESRC, 2007) and working and non-working morthers and divorce:

Answer 17

Working mothers divorce more than non-working mothers who have a traditional division of labour, but where the husband of the working wife is actively involved in the housework, the divorce rate is the same, essentially finding its more about domestic labour than economic.

Question 18

Hochschild (1997) and the comparison of work and home:

Answer 18

For many women, work provides a source of positive, independent identity, as well as self esteem, that the home does not, making women feel less need to stay in unhappy marriages. Work also gives women less time to do emotional labour and address problems before they build up and become ‘irretrievable differences’.

Question 19

Giddens (1992) and the pure relationship:

Answer 19

Traditional norms like obligation and duty are losing hold, giving way to a society based on selfish individualism. Relationships, therefore, become based only on the fulfillment of each partner’s needs

Question 20

Give a criticism of relationships as becoming more individualistic.

Answer 20

Smart (2007): the individualisation thesis ignored the continuing social obligations and responsibilities we have, it’s over individualised and the theory a white man

Question 21

What do interactionists see a high divorce rate as?

Answer 21

Morgan (1996) argues we cannot generalise what it is, what divorce means varies wildly based on the individual; Mitchell and Goody found for some it is the best day of their life and some don’t recover.

Question 22

What do personal life perspective theorists see a high divorce rate as?

Answer 22

Divorce can cause issues but, as Smart (2011) states, family life can adapt without disintergrating, it is ‘just another transition among others in the life course’.

Question 23

Give evidence of marriages decreasing.

Answer 23

The proportion of adults who have never married or been in a civil partnership has increased every decade from 26% in 1991 to 38% in 2021 (2021 census).

Question 24

Outline changes in marriage trends.

Answer 24

• More marriages are remarriages for one or both partners - 1/3 of all marriages in 2012
• Average age at marriage is almost 10 years older than that in the 70’s, at 31.
• Number of marriages in churches has halved since the 80’s, to 30%.

Question 25

What are the 5 reasons for the changing patterns of marriage.

Answer 25

- Attitudes - Secularisation - Declining stigma at alternatives - Position of women - Fear of divorce

Question 26

How does the change in attitudes to marriage and its alternatives affect rates of marriage?

Answer 26

Marriage is no longer seen as the badge of a good couple or a stable individual, partners feel less pressure to submit to societal standards and can cohabit or have children out of wedlock without stigma that they aren't having a 'shotgun wedding' or they can break up without being seen as strange or being alienated.

Question 27

How does secularisation affect marriage rates?

Answer 27

People aren't constantly under the socialisation and pressure of an institution that believes that marriage is a holy thing to take part in so feel less strife with society and their own identity if they don't plan on getting married.

Question 28

How do changes in the position of women affect marriage rates?

Answer 28

Women are economically capable of surviving in society without the assistance of a husband - they are also now socialised to be more focussed on careers and success than previously.

Question 29

Why does fear of divorce affect marriage rates?

Answer 29

Welsh (2011): Many cohabiting couples are turned off by marriage as they fear they will likely end anyway - with 2/3 as such.

Question 30

How has rates of family cohabitation changed over time?

Answer 30

Rate of family cohabitation has more than tripled since the late 90's, to 18% in 2023.

Question 31

What are the reasons for the increase in family cohabitation?

Answer 31

- Secularisation - Changing attitudes: 50% more people are okay with pre-marital sex, compared to the late-80's - Women's increased financial independence

Question 32

What are the various meanings assigned to cohabitation?

Answer 32

- A step before marriage - Coast (2006): 75% of cohabiting couples expected to marry - this would explain why people are cohabiting more and getting married older - A permenant alternative - Bejin (1985): Young people cohabit as a means of creating a more equal and personally negotiated relationship - 70% of those 16-29, 140x that of those 70+.

Question 33

Stonewall (2012) and same-sex relationships:

Answer 33

5-7% of the adult population today are in same sex relationships and 86% of people in the UK accept homosexuality.

Question 34

What decriminalised male homosexual acts?

Answer 34

The Sexual Offences Act 1967

Question 35

Weeks (1999) and 'found families':

Answer 35

The increased acceptance of gay people leads to more of them cohabiting as they create kinship networks on the basis of 'friendship as kinship', also known as 'found families', which provide the same stability and purpose as heterosexual families.

Question 36

Why do gay people form 'found families'?

Answer 36

Blood relationships are inherently more unstable as they are not based on the knowledge and acceptance of both partner's identities.

Question 37

What is the effect of the traditional lack of institutions like marriage on queer relationships?

Answer 37

Allan and Crow (2001): Same-sex relationships didn't have the same legal framework to impose certain dynamics on them so are more negotiable and unstable.

Question 38

Einasdottir (2011) and the reaction to legal gay marriage:

Answer 38

Although many gay marriages are happy that their love can be officially recognised, many as hesitant as they worry that the negotiablility and flexibility of their relationship will suffer.

Question 39

Outline 2 trends sourrounding single-person households.

Answer 39

- Proportion of single-person households has tripled since the 60's, to 30% (8.4mn). - 40% of single-person households are over 65

Question 40

What are the main reasons for the increase in single-person households?

Answer 40

- Aging population: there are more older people, who are more likely to be widowers, by choice or due to lack of options in the dating pool - Decline in those marrying and increase in age of marriage leaves many young people not in relationships - the proportion of which has doubled since 1971 - Increase in seperation and divorce has created more single-person households, especially among men under 65 as they are less likely to gain custody

Question 41

Duncan and Phillips (2013) and 'living apart together':

Answer 41

Many couples steer under the radar as, although they are in committed long-term relationships, they are not living together - this may be out of choice for independence or out of inability like living far apart. The majority of people accept LATs and 20% view it as their 'ideal relationship' (more than the number for cohabitation), though this does not fully amount to a rejection of traditional relationships.

Question 42

BSA (2013) and LATs:

Answer 42

1/10 adults are in LATs, half the people officially classified as single

Question 43

How has number of children born out of wedlock changed over time? Why is this likely an over-estimate?

Answer 43

Number of children has more than doubled since the mid-80's, reaching 51% in 2024 (a majority) - Nearly all births are registered to two parents who are in a long-term, committed relationship.

Question 44

What are the reasons for the changes in child-bearing relationships?

Answer 44

- Decline in stigma and increase in cohabitation lead to more births outside of marriage - only 28% of 25-34 year olds believe marriage comes before parenthood - Women have more independence and power and are choosing to create careers before motherhood, likely representing an overcorrection since their parenthood.

Question 45

What % of families are lone-parent and matrifocal?

Answer 45

22% of families are lone-parent and 90% are matrifocal.

Question 46

What is the main reason for the number of lone-parent families increasing?

Answer 46

Increase in divorce and seperation play a part, but mostly the declining stigma behind having children outside of marriage - in 2012, 48% of people agree that a single parent can raise a child.

Question 47

What are the 3 reasons that single parents are more likely to be women?

Answer 47

- Widespread belief that women are naturally more nurturing, also affecting custody decisions - Men being less willing to give up on work for children - Many women choose not to have a partner; either because they can economically take care of their children alone (Renvoize (1985)) or because of previous experience with abuse (Cashmore (1985))

Question 48

Murray (1984) and the welfare state:

Answer 48

The welfare state provides 'perverse incentives' to commit antisocial behaviour like have children outside of marriage or abandon one's family as they know they can rely on welfare to survive, also known as the 'dependency culture', this is the main reason for the growth in lone parent families.

Question 49

Give two criticisms of Murray (1964).

Answer 49

- There is no incentive to get pregnant young and without adequate support network - He wildly overestimates the amount of support recieved from welfare, especially with the two-child allowance and the benefits cap

Question 50

What % of dependant children are in stepfamilies?

Answer 50

9% - 1.1 million

Question 51

Ferri and Smith (1986) vs. Allan and Crow (2001):

Answer 51

- Reconstituted families are similar to first families in all major respects, with step parent involvement being positive - Reconstituted families face problems over divided loyalties, especially with the non-residential parent

Question 52

McCarthy et al (2003) and 'stepfamilies':

Answer 52

There is too much variety in the experience of step families to discuss 'the step family', the blending of cultures and dynamics is too different between households.

Question 53

What % of the UK is White, Asian or Black? How has this changed since 1991?

Answer 53

White: 82% Asian: 9% Black: 4% A fall of 11% for the white proportion.

Question 54

What is the most common household for black people?

Answer 54

Single-parent (24%)

Question 55

What are the three possible explanations for the commonality of black matrifocal households?

Answer 55

- Under slavery, children would stay with the mother when sold so established a pattern of family life - uneployment and poverty also make it difficult for men to provide, increasing desertion - Mirza (1997): this reflects the high degree of importance black women place on independence - Reynolds (2010): many 'lone' black parents are in unrecorded non-cohabiting relationships

Question 56

What is the most common household for Asian families? What are the two main explanations?

Answer 56

Large, married or same-sex civil partnership couples (47%) - Ballard (1982): Cultural values are important in strong ties with kin; however, migration and the need for cheap small living spaces as well as help in settling, explains the commonality of close Asian families.

Question 57

What was Parson's view of the extended family?

Answer 57

Compared to the nuclear family, it is not culturally or geographically mobile enough to survive or thrive in the industrial era.

Question 58

Charles (2008) and the extended family:

Answer 58

The traditional three generation extended family in Swansea is "all but extinct", except among the Bangladeshi community.

Question 59

Willmott (1988) and extended families:

Answer 59

There is a growth in 'dispersed extended families' where they are geographically seperated but keep close and consistent contact, similar to the Carribean families in Chamberlain (1999)

Question 60

Brannen (2003) and the beanpole family:

Answer 60

There is a rise in families that have multiple generations (extended vertically) and have few branches (un-horizontally extended).

Question 61

What factors have increased the beanpole family?

Answer 61

- Increasing life expectancy, 80 years - Decreasing family size, 1.5 TFR

Question 62

Finch and Mason (1993) and family obligation:

Answer 62

Over 90% of people have given or receiven financial help from family and 1/2 have cared for a sick relative.

Question 63

Cheal (2002) and differing expectations of family members:

Answer 63

More help is expected from female family members, esecially when someone requires cairng for - but, rarely when financial aid is required.