AS Sociology- Changing Family Patterns
What do some sociologists argue individualization leads to?
A neoliberal, consumerist identity based on freedom to follow self-interest. -This is likely to pull spouses apart
What did Finch and Mason (1993) about the obligation to help extended kin?
-90% of people have given/received financial help -1/2 have cared for a sick relative -They found that more help was expected from female relatives
What is the 'bean pole' family described by Julia Brannen (2003)?
-A 'long and thin' extended family -Family extends vertically -But not horizontally, not aunts etc. -Sharp decline in contact between brothers and sisters
What does the personal life perspective think about divorce?
-Accepts divorce can cause problems e.g. financial difficulties -However, people such as Carol Smart (2011) argue divorce is 'normalised' and doesn't mean the family is disintegrating -"One transition among others in the life course"
What are some statistics on step-families?
-Account for 10% of families with dependent children in Britain -85% have children from the woman's previous relationship -11% come from the man's previous -4% have children from both sides
Why do some people criticize the New Right perspective?
-Argue the welfare benefit is far from generous -Lack of affordable childcare means LPs not working- 60% are unemployed -Inadequate welfare benefits -Most lone parents are women, who earn less than men -Fathers often fail to pay maintenance
How does modern society encourage individualization?
-Both sexes expected to work -Encouraged to pursue their own career ambitions -Causes conflict of interest between spouses which can lead to a marital breakdown
What does Colin Bell (1968) argue?
-Both working-class and middle-class had emotional bonds with kin and relied on them for support -Among middle-class financial help was more common from father to son -Among working-class domestic help was more common from mothers to daughters
Why might more births outside of marriage?
-Decline in stigma -28% of 25-34 think marriage should come before parenthood -Women now have more options than motherhood -Many seeking career before/over family and children
What other solutions to divorce are there?
-Desertion -Legal separation -'Empty shell' marriage
What do feminists think about the raised divorce rate?
-Desirable -Shows women are breaking free from oppression
What do McCarthy et al (2003) argue?
-Diversity among these families is wide, so they should be referred to as step families and not the step family -Some have a few tensions, but not much more than those of the traditional family
What does Ellis Cashmore (1985) argue?
Some working-class women choose welfare benefits without a partner due to previous abuse
What do Allan and Crowe (2001) argue about step-families?
Step families have issues of divided loyalties, issues with contact with the non-resident parent
Why are there less first marriages:
-Secularisation: only 3% non-religious married, whilst 17% of religious -Declining stigma attached to alternatives
Why are couples less likely to get married in a church?
-Secularisation -Many churches don't marry divorcees
What else might lead to an increase in LPFs?
Feminist ideas and greater female opportunity
What is serial monogamy?
The pattern of marriage to divorce to re-marriage
Why are public attitudes favourable to 'living apart togethers'?
"A couple don't have to live together to make a strong relationship" -20% see LATs as the ideal relationship
What do Allan and Crowe (2001) argue?
"Love, personal commitment and intrinsic satisfaction are now seen as the cornerstones of marriage"
What are the statistics on women and divorce?
-65% petitions come from women -In 1946 this was only 37% Most are on the grounds of husband's unreasonable behaviour
What is the 'individualization thesis'?
Individuals are more free to pursue their own self-interest
What did Cheal (2002) find?
-"Help should be given: first, by a spouse; second, by a daughter; third, by a daughter-in-law; fourth, by a son; fifth, by other relatives" -Care for an elderly relative done by daughters/ daughter-in-laws -Daughters not suitable for giving money
What do Allan and Crowe argue?
-"Marriage less embedded within the economic system" -Family no longer a unit of production, so no longer dependent on each other
What did Duncan and Phillips find for the British Social Attitudes Survey (2013)?
-1 in 10 adults are 'living apart together' -In a significant relationship but no cohabiting -About 1/2 of all people classified as single -Reflects a trend towards less formal relationships -'family by choice'
What did the interactionists Mitchell and Goody find?
-1 person said their father leaving was the best day of her life -Another said they had never recovered from it
How has stigma changed to sex outside of marriage?
-1989: 44% agreed with sex outside of marriage -2012: 65% agreed
Why is cohabitation now seen as an alternative to marriage?
-1989: 70% thought couples who want children should marry, 2012: only 42% -Changes in women's position: women are not as economically dependent on men, so are free not to marry -Fear of divorce: many may see marriage at risk of ending with divorce
What are the statistics on cohabitation?
-2.9 million cohabiting couples in the UK -1 in 8 cohabit, double the 1996 figures -69,000 same-sex cohabiting couples -1/5 are 'serial cohabitants', people who repeatedly cohabit
What are the marriage statistics?
-2012: 175,000 marriages 1/2 1972 figure More re-marriages: -2012: 1/3 of all marriages were re-marriages People marrying later: -Average age of 1st marriage rose by 7 years 1972-2012 Couples less likely to marry in Church: -1981: 60% religious marriages -2012: less than 30%
What are the statistics on one person households?
-2013: 3 in 10 households only had one person this is 3x the 1961 figure -40% of all one-person households are o65 -Pensioner one-person houses have doubled since 1961 -One-person non-pensioner households have tripled -2033: 30% of the adult population will live alone
What is the difference in size of Bangladeshi, Pakistani and Indian families?
-4.4, 4.3 and 3 people respectively per household -Compares to 2.4 in black and white households
What are some statistics about children being born outside of marriage?
-47% of all children born outside of marriage -2x more than 1986 -Nearly all registered by parents who are cohabiting
What does Stonewall (2012) argue?
-5-7% of the adult population have same sex relationships -Impossible to tell whether this is higher, as in the past people were more secretive
Why do some people think there are more Black LPFs?
-Evidence of the disorganization of the family caused by slavery/black male unemployment -Under slavery children remained with the mother -Black unemployment means they can't provide for the family which leads to marital breakdown
What does Peter Willmott (1988) argue?
-Extended family continues as a 'dispersed extended family' -Relatives are geographically separate, but remain in frequent contact
Why is there now an increase in step-families?
-Factors causing more lone-parent families, is also a reason for more step families
What three types of change have occurred in the divorce law?
-Grounds have been equalized -Grounds have been widened -Divorce is now cheaper
What does the New Right sociologist, Charles Murray (1984) argue about the growth of LPFs?
-Grown due to an over-generous welfare state -'Perverse incentive' rewards irresponsible behavior -Creates a 'dependency culture' where people assume the state will support them -Solution is to abolish the welfare benefit
What does the functionalist, Ronald Fletcher (1996) argue?
-Higher divorce rate due to higher expectations of marriage -Couples less willing to tolerate an unhappy marriage
What does Arlie Hochschild (1997) argue?
-Home compares unfavourably with work -At work women are valued -At home, men's refusal to do housework is a source of conflict -Both partners working leaves less time to do the emotion work of fixing the marriage
Why might there be more LPFs?
-Increase in divorced and never-married women having children -Decline in stigma surrounding birth outside of marriage -Deaths of one parent no longer a significant cause of LPFs
Why are there more one-person households?
-Increase in separation and divorce -Trend towards no marriage/later marriage leads to more people living alone -Many are opting for 'creative singlehood'- the choice to live alone -Some are alone because there are too few partners in their age group e.g. the elderly
What does Jeffrey Weeks (1996) argue?
-Increased acceptance leads to more stable relationships and cohabitation from same-sex couples -Gays create families on 'friendship' as 'kinship'. -These are 'chosen families' and are just as stable as heterosexual families
What 2 demographic changes have lead to bean pole families?
-Increased life expectancy (more surviving grandparents) -Smaller family sizes (people have fewer siblings)
What are the statistics about lone-parent families?
-LPF now 22% of families with children -1 in 4 children live in a LPF -Over 90% are headed by mothers -Until 1990s divorced women the biggest group of lone mothers -After 1990s this was single women -A child with a lone mother is 2x as likely to be living in poverty
Why might there be choice and constraint in these types of relationship?
-Many said they couldn't afford to live together -Some actively chose to live apart, as they thought it was 'too early'
What are the reasons for the other changes in patterns within step-families?
-More children come from the woman as she is most likely to have custody -Stepfamilies at a greater risk of poverty due to having more children and the stepfather may be supporting other children -Some of the tensions faced by stepfamilies may be due to a lack of norms about behavior in this setting
Why do functionalists still remain positive about the popularity of marriage, despite the increase in divorce rate?
-Most adults marry -High rates of re-marriage implies that marriage is not rejected as an institution
How can cohabitation be seen as a 'trial marriage'?
-Most decide to marry if they have children -Try out if they can live together -Could be a temporary option whilst one is divorcing the previous partner
What does Wendy Sigle-Rushton (2007) argue?
-Mothers with a dual-burden are more likely to divorce then non-working mothers with a traditional division of labour
What did Mason (2011) find about the nature of support?
-Much depends on the history of the relationship -It depends on the obligations women feel towards the relative -As well as what 'legitimate excuses' they can find
How has the family and household patterns changed?
-N.o. of nuclear family households fallen -Divorce rates have risen -Fewer 1st marriages, but more re-marriages -People marrying later in life -More couples cohabiting -Same-sex relationships legally recognized -Women having fewer children and birthing later -More births outside marriage -More lone parent families -More step-families and couples without children
What do Cooke and Gash (2010) argue?
-No evidence that working women are more likely to divorce -Argue that this is due to the fact that working married women is now a social norm
What are the divorce statistics?
-Number of divorces doubles 1961-69 -Doubled again by 1972 -Peaked at 165,000 in 1993 -Stood at 118,000 in 2012 -40% of all marriages end in divorce
Why are relationships more fragile?
-People more willing to leave if they are dissatisfied -They seek a 'pure relationship' ~ Giddens -One that seeks to satisfy personal needs and not out of duty -This results in a higher divorce rate
What do functionalists think about the raised divorce rate?
-Raised divorce rate not a threat to marriage as a social institution -Simply a result of the higher expectations given to marriage -High re-marriage shows a commitment to marriage
What other reasons are there for changes in the pattern of marriage?
-Re-marriages: rise in divorce, leads to more people being able to remarry -Age of marrying: getting older due to education and cohabiting beforehand
What does Kath Weston (1992) think about 'quasi-marriage'?
-Same sex cohabitation is a 'quasi-marriage' -Many gays choosing to cohabit as stable partners -Contrasts with gay rejection of monogamy in the 1970s
Why are some couples more likely to cohabit?
-Secularisation -Women don't need marital financial support
What does the New Right argue is the effects of the high divorce rate?
-Sees the raised rate as undesirable because it undermines marriage and the nuclear family which they see as vital to social stability -Creates a growing class of welfare dependent female lone parents which act as a burden to the state and leave boys without role models
What contrasting gay opinion did Anna Einasdottir (2011) find towards legal partnerships?
-Some gays welcomed the opportunity to have legally recognized partnerships -Others feared it would affect flexibility -Some don't want heterosexual norms
What do Ferri and Smith (1998) argue?
-Step families are very similar to first families -Step parents involvement is often positive -Step families are 2x as likely to live in poverty
What does Mary Chamberlain (1999) argue?
-Study of Caribbean families in Britain -Despite being geographically dispersed, they continue to give support -They form 'multiple nuclear families' who have close and frequent contact between more distant family who make a contribution to child rearing -Extended family still exists as it performs important functions
What did Nickie Charles (2008) find in their study of Swansea?
-The classic 3 generation family all living together is "all but extinct" -Only exceptions amongst the Bangladeshi
Why do feminists argue there is an increase in divorce?
-The dual burden leading to conflict -Marriage remains patriarchal -Men still benefit from women's 'triple shift'
What do feminists argue is the main cause of divorce?
-The oppression of women in the family -Functionalists don't explain why the high divorce rates are mainly women
What does Tracey Reynolds (2010) argue?
-The statistics are misleading -In many 'LPF', parents are actually in a stable, but non-cohabiting relationship
Why might some Asian families be bigger?
-They may contain extended families (most are nuclear) -Larger families mainly due to Asians being typically younger (more children) -More value placed on the extended family and the fact they need assistance migrating
What types of marriage are at the greatest risk of divorce?
-Those who marry young -Have a child before marriage -Cohabit before marriage -Where 1/2 of the partners have been married before
What has the secularization of religion led to?
-Traditional opposition of churches to divorce carries less weight in society -People less likely to be influenced by religion when choosing whether to divorce -Church has also softened to divorce and divorcees (could be due to losing credit with its members)
How have these changes affected the divorce statistics?
-When the grounds were equalized in 1923, there was a sharp increase in divorces -When the grounds were widened to irretrievable breakdown (1971) they doubled overnight -1949 the cost was lowered
What does Jessie Bernard (1976) argue from her radical feminist perspective?
-Women feel a growing dissatisfaction with patriarchal marriage -Higher divorce rate and the fact that most petitions come from women is evidence of the growth of feminist ideas -Women are more conscious of patriarchy and are more confident rejecting it
What might be a reason for increased divorce in terms of women's financial independence?
-Women less economically dependent on their husbands -Pay gap has narrowed -Girls' greater educational success means they have better paid jobs -Greater availability of welfare benefits
Why are LPFs more likely to be female-headed?
-Women suited to the nurturing and expressive role -Divorce courts give custody to the mother -Men less willing to give up work to care for children
How have the rights of same sex couples changed?
1967- homosexual acts decriminalized for consenting adults over 21 2002- Cohabiting couples same right to adopt as married 2004- Civil Partnership Act 2014: Same sex marriage
What does Ernestina Coast (2006) argue?
75% cohabiting couples expect to marry
What did the 2011 census reveal about the population?
86% white 14% EM: -7.5% Asian British -3.3% Black British -2.2% Mixed
Why do Allan and Crowe argue gay relationships used to be less stable?
Before any framework, gays had to negotiate relationships more- making them more flexible and less stable
How does the higher divorce rate link to the romantic ideology of love?
Belief that marriage is based solely on love, therefore if the love dies, there is no longer a need to be married
What does Andre Bejin (1985) argue?
Cohabitation amongst young people is a conscious attempt to create a more equal relationship compared to patriarchal marriage
What does Robert Chester argue?
Cohabitation is a part of the marriage process
What do Beck and Giddens (1992) argue about modern society?
In modern society, traditional norms like the duty to remain with a partner, are losing their hold
What does the interactionist, David Morgan (1996) argue?
Every individual's interpretation of divorce is different
What does Roger Ballard (1982) argue?
Extended family ties are an important source of support among 50s and 60s Asian migrants
What did Finch and Mason find?
Help received should be returned to avoid indebtness
What are the statistics on Black African and Black Caribbean LPFs?
In 2012 1/2 of black families were LPF This compared with only 1/9 Asian -Black more likely to be LPF
How does this differ to the past?
Marriage used to be out of requirement, and so there was little expectation surrounding it and therefore very little dissatisfaction
Why might some lone mothers be 'single by choice'?
May wish to limit the father's involvement
What do Duncan and Phillips think about LATs?
More normal than it used to be, but doesn't mean more traditional relationships are rejected
What might be a reason for the fall in the number of marriages?
More people choosing to cohabit instead
What is stigma?
Negative label, social disapproval, or shame attached to a person, action or relationship
What does divorce becoming more common do?
Normalise it and reduce the stigma surrounding it
What does Jean Renvoize (1985) think?
Professional women are able to support their child without the father's involvement
What do postmodernists think about the raised divorce rate?
Shows individuals have the freedom to choose to end a relationship when it no longer meets their needs
Which religious groups are more likely to have extended family?
Sikhs, Muslims and Hindus
What does Mitchell and Goody (1997) argue?
Since the 1960s there has been a rapid decrease in the stigma surrounding divorce
What does Heidi Safia Mirza (1997) argue?
There is a high number of Black LPF families, not due to disorganization, but due to the high importance being placed on independent black women
What do Shelton and John (1993) think about cohabiting women?
They do less housework than their married counterparts
What do interactionists think about the raised divorce rate?
Want to understand what divorce means to the individual
