Families: Changing family patterns Flashcards
(55 cards)
How have patterns of marriage changed recently
- Less people are getting married
- Higher rates of remarriage
- People are marrying later
- Less people are getting married in a church
Why have marriage rates fallen
- Changing attitudes: less pressure to marry and more freedom to choose
- Secularisation:: influence of the church has declined
- Declining stigma around alternatives such as cohabitation
- Changes in the position of women
- Fear of divorce
Why is the rate of remarriage increasing
Increasing divorce rates
Why is the age people are marrying increasing
Young people are spending more time and education and want to establish a career first
Why are less people getting married in churches
- Fewer people see the relevance of a religious ceremony
- Many churches refuse to marry divorcees
What is cohabitation
When an unmarried couple in a sexual relationship have been living together
What is the fastest growing family type
Cohabitating couples with children
Why has cohabitation increased
- Decrease in stigma around sex outside of marriage
- Increased career opportunities for women
- Secularisation
Who is more likely to cohabitate
Young people
How have attitudes around premarital sex changed
In 1989 only 44% of people agreed premarital sex is not wrong but 65% of people had this view in 2012
How has increased carreer opportunities for women led to an increase in cohabitation
Less need for the financial security of marriage
What is cohabitation often seen as
A trial marriage
According to stonewall what percentage of the population is same sex
5-7%
Why is it difficult to see if there is an increase in homosexual relationships
Stigma and illegality in the past means it wasnt recorded properly
What evidence id there of increased acceptance of same sex relationships
- Homosexuality was decriminalised in 1967
- The age of consent has been equalised
- Opinion polls show more tolerance
What does Weeks argue about same sex families
- There is often families based on the idea of friendship as kinship where friendship becomes a type of kinship network
- This offers the same stability and security as heterosexual families
How does Weston describe same sex cohabitation
Quasi marriage with couples cohabiting as stable partners
Why do Allan and Crow argue same sex couples are more flexible and less stable
Because of the absence of a legal framework (such as marriage and civil partnerships) until recently, same sex partners have had to negotiate their committment and responsibilities more than a married couple
How have the number of one person households changed
- A rise in people living alone
- 40% of all one person households are over 65
Why has there been an increase in one person households
- Increase in seperation and divorce (especially for men as women often get custody of children)
- Decline in people remarrying or waiting longer to remarry
How have childbearing patterns changed
- Nearly half of children are being born out of marriage (over twice as many as in 1986)
- Women have children later
- Women have fewer children
- More women are remaining childless
Why have childbearing patterns changed
- Decline in stigma and increase in cohabitation
- Women are focussing on career
How have the number of lone parent families changed
Increased and now makes up 22% of families with children
Why is the number of lone parent families increasing
- Increase in divorce
- Decrease in marriage
- Decline in stigma around having children outside of marriage
