family Flashcards
(50 cards)
what is a nuclear family?
-two generations, a father an mother, living at the same address with one or more children.
seen as the ideal family type
preferred by politicians, functionalists and the media
what is a extended family?
these are families that include kins (relatives) who live at the same address
vertical- children, parents, grandparents
horizontal- family in the same gen living together e.g. brothers
What is a beanpole family?
a vertically extended family with up to four generations but with little to no children making it look long
-low birth rates mean only one or two children may be born into each generation.
what is a reconstituted family?
-step or blended families
two partners who live together both have prior children.
what is a lone parent family?
one parent cares for and lives with a child without the assistance of another parent.
on the rise
15% of families in England are lone parent
most likely to be lone mothers
what is a same sex family?
couple of same sex living together.
what is a cohabitating family?
couple who are close as partners who are living together but are unmarried.
what is Living apart together?
couples who are close and intimate but do not live together.
what is living alone
Klineberg- (reasons)
Cult of the individual
communication revolution
aging population
What is the trend for marriage modernly.
The number of marriages is decreasing.
Both men and women now marry when they are older. (late 20-30)
what are the reasons for the decreasing rate of marriage?
-Social attitudes
There is no longer a social stigma surrounding being single, additionally have children out of wedlock is not seen as a bad thing.
-Secularisation
the decline of religion, people now view the religions values of being marriage as being old fashioned
-legal changes
Divorce reform act (1969) marriage could end if it had broken down
Equal pay act (1970)
both men and women now financially responsible for children is divorced
Child benefit act- (2005)
father had to pay for children
-education and career
Genderquake (Wilkinson)
the main goal in life for women is no longer to marry and have children, but focus on their career and what they want to do with their life.
Economic-
the average wedding costs around £20,000 which is unrealistic for many couples
Individualism and Personal fulfillment
]people now focus in themselves, not only focused on marriage.
what trends are linked with co-habitation?
cohabitation between opposite sex couples has increased
couples of same-sex cohabiting has decreased
what are the reasons for the trends surrounding co-habitation?
-Social attitudes
social attitudes have changed where cohabitation was discouraged previously but seen as perfectly normal modernly.
-decline in family values
new right Morgan- marriage-lite
(cohabiting couples are less happy than married ones )
-education and career
Gender-quake- Wilkinson
women now prioritise their career and education over marriage
-economic
marriage costs around £20,000 which is mire than most people can afford.
-individualism and persoanl fulfillment
people now prioritise themselves and are selfish, and are driven to avoid personal risk.
+Giddens- Transformation of intimacy
romantic love is turning into confluent love
-prelude to marriage (Jamison)
cohabitation is a test of compatibility , where couples see if intimacy is sustained over a long period of time become full commitment.
what are the trends surrounding divorce ?
divorce rates increased in the late 20th century.
divorce rates where on a dip but are now on the increase.
Explain the reasons for the trends surrounding divorce.
-Legal changes
1949- Legal aid +
1969- divorce reform act +
1996- The family law act -
2010- The equality Act +
2003- Sexual offences act +
privatised nuclear family
the family became isolated from extended kin, who often acted as a social control to keep people together
Changes in social attitudes and secularisation
changing attitudes have freed people from the previous stigma surrounding divorce, leading to a rise of divorce rates.
Changing position of women
genderquake -wilkenson
women no longer seek marriage for economic stability, instead they have stable jobs for themselves
changes in expectations of marriage
people now want marriage for only love, not economic security. People are not likely to remain in a loveless marriage anymore like previous generations
Empty shell marriage (Giddens)
individualism and self fulfilment
people are now selfish and prioritise their own personal happiness over anyone else’s.
what is demography?
the sociological study if population trends dependent on birth, fertility and death and migration rates
what are the trends of demography- birth trends and family size
-fertility rates are decreasing- leaving families smaller
the average age to have children is increasing- 30.9
what are the reasons for the trends in birth rates and family size?
-contraception and abortion
the more accessible with control such as the birth control pill have been widely normalised to take, meaning having sex doesn’t increase risk of pregnancy.
Also, abortion was legalised in 1967, meaning women can choose if they want to keep a baby or not
decline in infant mortality rates
the chances of a baby dying in infancy has rapidly decreased due to technology advancement
this means families no longer need to have a big family to ensure they will have heirs
Economical
children are a financial burden and due to inflation rates, lack of jobs and increasing housing prices, people are less likely to want to have children.
Additionally their has been a rise of children returning home after university, meaning they are economical hard
(kippers- heath)
changes in social attitudes
individualisation
give an overview to the ageing population.
Elderly people are now living longer than previously.
Elderly people outweigh younger people
give reasons why people are living longer
1) lower birth rates- fewer people are being born into the younger generations
2)high life expectancy- due to advancements in medical care,
nutrition, housing, people are more likely to survive diseases
what re the positive implications of an aging population
- employment
people are healthy beyond retirement meaning they still help out within society e.g. charity shops and volunteering
-grey pound - Kingman
spending of older people has increased- sustaining the English economy.
-grandparents offer free child care (Statham)
grandparents can help there children by looking after their kids,
what are the negative implications of the aging population?
- increasing age dependency ratio
those needing their pension is outweighing those who are working and providing it
-economic burden on the state (Murray)
Elderly people tend to be main recipricents of healthcare, social services and adult social care .
-sandwhich generation (Henrietta and Grundy)
middle age women now have to look after their own children as well as their grandparents
-increase of loneliness
-growth in extended families.
explain the finding of the Rapport study -family diversity
-since the 1980s, families have become more diverse, there is no longer one clear dominant family type
trends such as marriage, divorce ect. have made family structure different.
-life course, we do not have the same family set up the whole of our lives.
-organisational, the decrease in marriage has lead to different family types
-social class, variations within family structures differ within the class brackets, with working class mother said to be more child-centred than those of working class
explain the findings of Chesters study about family diversity
the nuclear family is still dominant, roles have just changed, as women now are equal earners to men.
