Househuld Forms Flashcards
(13 cards)
Define single parent household
When adults live alone either due to
Death of a partner
Breakdown of a relationship
Through personal choice
Define couple households
consist of two people without children
Include couples who have not yet started a family or choose to remain childless
couples whose children have left home (empty nest syndrome)
ROSENEIL—> suggest additional category in couple households
Where couples live apart—>, possibly due to work demands or different routines
Referred to as living apart together (LAT)
Define shared households
Involves group of unrelated people living together
Student dormetories
What are some of the variations in household forms?
Reconstituted families
Same-sex couples
Define extended families
Vertically extended fams —-> involve 3 or more gens ( grandparents parents children)
Living in or close to same household
Horizontally extended fams—-> those with branches within generations (uncles aunts)
Living with or close to each other
Define matrifocal families
Female focused variation on vertically extended family (female parents, grandparent or child)
Patriarchal families —->focused on men
Define modified extended family
Gordon suggested —-> as the most common type
Where wider family members keep in touch both =
physically through visits or exchange of help
+ emotionally via telephone and mail
Define families of choice
Referred to close r/s that are chosen —-> rather than being given by blood relationships or marriage
This term was used first —-> by WENSTON to describe homosexual arrangements
Define loan parent households
1961—> 2% of population lived in households with single parents
It increased to 12% by 2005
Britain has second highest number of loan parent households
However, these stats provided one side of picture
Increases remairage Rates + number of cohabiting couples —-> showed that children do not spend all their lives living in a single parent household
What are the causes of single parent households?
Demographic changes
Divorce/separation
Death of a spouse
What are the consequences of loan parent households?
- Many contribute to creating under class of socially deprived people in society. (under class implies the long-term ppl)
- Social stigma attached to these fams—-> as considered to having adverse influence on children’s development
- Loan parent mothers especially targeted for being unfit parents.
However many charges against loan parent households are unfounded - Conservative politicians branded 2 parent family as ideal model.
John Major’s conservative government + labour government 1998 green paper focused on marriage as the surest foundation for raising children - May lead to psychological trauma for children being raised in them.
-Might be related to absence of the second parent
-Economically depressed situation of children
-or child being exposed to a lot of frustration on part of remaining loan parent
David Morgan suggested that children of lone parent households are less well educated than two parent households. This trauma might affect the education development of the child.
What are the changing attitudes towards loan parent households?
Mark Brown
suggested shotgun marriages where legitimacy was required for children to be born outside marriage are no longer there
Today partners can find recourse to cohabitation even loan parenthood —-> decreasing the numbers of shotgun marriages
Number of negative connotations attached to loan parents households are not there
British social attitudes survey —-> 19 9870% of respondent said that people who want children must marry
But in 2000 it decreased to 27%
David Morgan
States terms such as a illegitimate children and unmarried mothers are not used anymore
This could be due to the weakened control of religion +community control over women
What are the benefits of creation of welfare state for people
Loan parents can rely on welfare state to provide for basic needs of child and parent
Economic incentives to Marie, do not hold much stronger around today
Some social commentators suggest that loan parenthood is caused by people seeking welfare benefits
David Cameron in article for daily telegraph also criticise runaway fathers who didn’t take responsibility for their children
his conservative government introduced many measures making loan parents employed rather than dependent on state 
