FAMILIES TOPIC 5 - CHANGING FAMILY PATTERNS Flashcards
(11 cards)
Changing patterns of divorce and explanations
Since the 1960s, there has been a great increase in the number of divorces
Changes in the law - equalising the grounds for divorce between sexes, widening the grounds, making divorce cheaper, widening the grounds for divorce and making it cheaper
Declining stigma and changing attitudes - mitchell and goody - an important change since the 1960s has been a decline in the stigma attached to divorce
Secularisation - many churches have begun to soften their views on divorce and divorcees, maybe because they are losing credibility with large sections of the public.
Rising expectations of marriage - there has been the growth in the idea of romantic love. Crow argues that love, personal commitment and intrinsic satisfaction are now seen as the cornerstone of marriage. The absence of these feelings is itself justification for ending the relationship’.
Fletcher - takes optimistic view - the high rate of re-marriage shows that while divorcees have become dissatisfied with a particular partner, they have not rejected marriage as an institution.
Women’s increased financial independence - allan and crow argue that marriage is less embedded within the economic system
Feminist explanations - hochschild - for many women, the home compares unfavourably with work. At work, women feel valued while at home, men’s continuing resistance to housework is a source of frustration making the marriage less stable.
Meanings of divorce rates
The new right - sees high divorce rate as undesirable as it undermines the marriage and the traditional nuclear family which they regard as vital to social stability. High divorce rate creates a growing underclass of welfare dependent female lone parents who are a burden to the state which leaves boys without a male role model
Feminism - sees a high divorce rate as desirable because it shows that women are breaking free from the oppression of the patriarchal nuclear family.
Postmodernists and the individualisation thesis - individuals now have freedom to choose to end a relationship when it is no longer needed
Functionalists - not necessarily a threat to marriage as a social institution as shown throw the increase in rates of remarriage
Interactionists - morgan - we cannot generalise about the meaning of divorce because every individual’s interpretation is different
The personal life perspective - accepts that divorce can cause problems but smart agues that family life can adapt to it without disintegration.
Trends in marriage and the reasons
Fewer people are marrying but the rate of re-marriage has increased
Changing attitudes to marriage - less pressure to marry and more freedom for individuals to choose the type of relationship they want
Secularisation - as the influence of religious institutions decline, people feel freer to choose whether or not to marry
Declining stigma attached to alternatives to marriage
Changes in the position of women
Fear of divorce
Reasons for patterns of cohabitation
Cohabiting couples with children are a fast growing family type
Decline in stigma attached to sex outside of marriage
The young are more likely to accept cohabitation
Increased career opportunities for women may mean they have less need for financial security gained from husbands
Many see cohabitation as a trial marriage
Same sex relationships
Stonewall - the campaign for LGBTQ rights - estimates that 5-7% of the adult population today are in same sex relationships
There is increased social acceptance of same-sex relationships in recent years. Male homosexualacts were decriminalised in 1967 for consenting adults over 21.
Social policy now treats all couples more equally
In 2004, the civil partnership act gave same sex couples similar legal rights to married couples in respect of pensions, inheritance, enancies and property
Since 2015, same sex couples have been able to marry
Weeks - increased social acceptance may explain a trend towards same-sex cohabitation and stable relationships that resemble those found among heterosexuals
One person households
Fewer people today are living in couples
Increase in separation and divorce has created more one person households, especially among men under 65 who are unlikely to gain custody of their children
Decline in marriage creates more people remaining single
it is possible that a growing number of people are opting for ‘creative singlehood’ - the deliberate choice to live alone.
There is also a rise in living apart together (LAT’s)
Duncan and phillips’ research for the british social attitudes survey 2013 found that 1 in 10 couples are living apart together. This may reflect a change towards less formalised relationships and families of choice
Duncan and phillips also found that both choice and constraint play a part in this - some actively said that they could not afford to while a minority chose to live apart because they wanted to keep their own home or because of previous troubled relationships
The attitudes towards this family type were favourable - many believed that a couple who didn’t need to live together have a strong relationship while 20% see their ideal relationship as an LAT
Childbearing patterns
Nearly half of all children are now born outside of marriage - over 2x as many as 1986
Women are having children later
Women are having fewer children
More women are remaining childless
Decrease in stigma and the increase in cohabitation
Women now have more options than just motherhood. Many are seeking to establish themselves in a career before starting a family, or instead of having children at all.
Lone parent families
Now make up 24% of all families with children. One child in 5 lives in a lone parent family
About 90% of these families are headed by lone mothers - expectation, custody
Until the early 1990s, divorced women were the biggest group of lone mothers however, from the early 1990s, single (never been married) women became the largest group
A child living with a lone parent is twice as likely to be in poverty
Linked to the decline in stigma attached to birth outside of marriage
Widespread belief that women are by nature suited to the expressive role
Divorce gives custody to mothers
Men may be less willing to give up work than mothers
Cashmore - some working class mothers with less earning power chose to live on welfare benefits without a power because they had experienced abuse. Feminist ideas and greater opportunities for women may also encourage an increase in the number of never married lone mothers.
Murray - this has created a perverse incentive that creates a dependency culture in which people assume that the state will support them and their children. The solution to this is to abolish welfare benefits reducing the dependency culture.
stepfamilies
Stepfamilies account for over 10% of families with dependent children in britain
Ferri and smith - stepfamilies are very similar to first families in all major respects, and that the involvement of stepfamilies in childcare and childrearing is a positive one, However, they are at greater risk of poverty
Allan and crow - may face particular problems of divided loyalties and issues such as contact with the non-resident parent may cause tensions.
Ethnic differences in family patterns
British south asian families had a more traditional family life than most of the other groups with higher rates of marriage and lower rates of cohabitation and divorce. Couples married younger and fertility rates were higher. Higher rate of three generation households and obligations to assist extended family when important. A high value was placed on ‘izzat’ or family honour. As Bhatti noted, there have been signs of changing attitudes among the young and some conflicts with elders for example rising rates of lone parenthood.
White british families had lower marriage rates and fertility rates, later marriage, smaller family sizes, high rates of cohabitation and divorce.
Black british caribbean families - lower marriage rates, fertility rates similar to white british families, higher rates of lone parenthood, high rates of intermarriage with other groups.
The extended family today
Chamberlain’s study of caribbean families found that despite being geographically dispersed, they continue to provide support and described them as multiple nuclear families with close, frequent contact between siblings, uncles, aunts and cousins who make a big contribution to childrearing.
Bell - research in swansea found that both working class and middle class had emotional bonds with kin and relied on them for support. His research also suggests the importance of the beanpole family.
Brannen - describes the beanpole family as long and thin
Increased life expectancy
Smaller family sizes
Despite the rise in the beanpole family, many still felt a sense of obligation to help their wider extended kin. Finch and Mason found that over 90% of people had given or received financial help, and about 50% had cared for a sick relative.
