Marriage, cohabitation, divorce etc

Question 1

Fletcher (marriage)

Answer 1

• higher expectations on marriage and this is a major cause of rising divorce rates, people expect more from love and marriage, resulting in more unstable relationships

Question 2

Cockett and Tripp (divorce)

Answer 2

• divorce is becoming more accepted and normalised

Question 3

Dunscombe and Marsden (marriage)

Answer 3

• marriage remains patriarchal, which relies on women’s triple shift

Question 4

Gittins (marriage)

Answer 4

• divorced men are likely to remarry, than divorced women- women are more disillusioned with marriage

Question 5

Beck and Giddens (marriage)

Answer 5

• in modern society, traditional norms such as staying with the same partner for life have lost their hold over individuals- individual becomes more free to pursue his/her own self interest- individualisation thesis

Question 6

Giddens (marriage)

Answer 6

• individuals seek a pure relationship where rising expectations have led to confluent love- a love based on intimacy, closeness and emotion rather than duty or obligation

Question 7

Smart

Answer 7

• individuals are not passive puppets, but can fight back to society’s norms (divorce)

Question 8

Murray (lone parent families)

Answer 8

• use of an over generous welfare/ benefits have led to increase of lone parent families, providing for unmarried mothers and children
• creates a perverse incentive that rewards irresponsible behaviour

Question 9

Ballard (ethnic differences)

Answer 9

• extended family ties act as important source of support among Asian migrants in 50/60s

Question 10

Weeks (same sex)

Answer 10

• increased social acceptance has led to increase in chosen families

Question 11

Chester (cohabitation)

Answer 11

• cohabitation is part of the process of getting married- many see it as a ‘trial’ and tend to marry if it goes well

Question 12

Divorce

Answer 12

Trends; divorce increasing (greater family diversity)
Reasons; changes in the law
- declining stigma/ changing attitudes
- secularisation
- rising expectations (Fletcher)
- changes in position of women (Gittins)
- modernity and individualisation (Beck and Giddins)

• who divorces? Younger ages, lower classes (Kiernan and Mueller), remarriages

Question 13

Marriage

Answer 13

Trends; - fewer people are marrying/ fewer marrying in church
- more people marrying later (rose by seven years)
- more divorce after marriages/ remarriages
Reasons; - changes in attitudes to marriage
- declining stigma attached to alternatives
- secularisation
- fear of divorce
- changes in position of women

British Social Attitudes Survey- only 9% agreed no point getting married while 74% disagreed

Question 14

Cohabitation

Answer 14

Trends; cohabitation on the increase (over two million cohabitating)
Reasons; - decline in social stigma
- young more likely to accept cohabitation
- increases career opportunities for women
- secularisation

Question 15

Same sex relationships

Answer 15

Stonewall (2012)- 5-7% of adult population in same sex relationships
Reasons;
- decline in stigma and increased social acceptance
- age of consent of heterosexual/ homosexual relationships have equalised
- changes in law- Civil Rights Partnerships Act
- Weeks; increased social acceptance has led to trend in chosen families

Question 16

One person households/ LAT

Answer 16

• fewer people living as couple (increased living alone)
• increase in separation and divorce has created more one person households- trend towards marrying later
• less formalised relationships mean some couples choose not to live together while some may not afford to

Question 17

Child bearing

Answer 17

Trends; - women not having children
- women having children later
- women having children out of wedlock
Reasons; - declining stigma attached to births outside of marriage and increase of cohabitation
- women may seek a career before having children
- children seen as economic liabilities - increased availability of contraception

Question 18

Lone parent families

Answer 18

Trends; - One child in 4 lives in a LPF, 90% are headed by mothers
Reasons; - increase in separation and divorces but also increase of children born out of wedlock
- tend to be female headed because of belief that women are suited by nature to expressive role of nurturing and care

Murray; believes growth of lone parent families is due to over generous welfare providing benefits for unmarried mothers

Question 19

Step/ reconstituted families

Answer 19

• account for over 10% of all families with dependent children
• more children in reconstituted families are likely to stay with their mother
• greater risk of poverty as there are often more children, and father has to provide for children from previous family

Question 20

Ethnic differences

Answer 20

• immigration has led to greater ethnic diversity and changing family patterns
• Black families; higher proportion of lone parent households (traced back to slavery and high rates of unemployment among black males)
• Asian families; households tend to be larger but most are nuclear- a higher proportion of the childbearing age groups- higher emphasis on extended family