Sociology- families and households

Types of family

The family is studied because it is the primary agent of socialisation, teaching children norms and values. Anthony Giddens defines family as people linked by kinship where adults care for children.

Types: Nuclear (2 parents + children) – stable but financially pressured; Extended (wider relatives) – strong support but more conflict; Lone-parent – strong bonds but less financial stability; Reconstituted (stepfamily) – wider support but emotionally complex; Foster – safe care but risk of attachment issues; Matrifocal (mother-centred) – empowering but economically reliant on one parent.

Family patterns: The decline in fertility

Decline in fertility Family Policy Studies Institute: 1 in 5 women will choose to remain childless. In 2000, 1 in 5 women aged 40 had not had children - this was 1 in 10 in 1980 (lifestyle choices).

Changing role of women.

Wilkinson: genderquake, women no longer prioritise marriage and children, especially female graduates.

Decline in marriage: British social attitudes survey said most people see having children as better inside marriage.

Sharpe: women are prioritising education and career.

Family patterns: Trends affecting marriage and divorce

A rise in age of marriage: People are choosing to cohabit rather than marry.

Feminisation of the workplace- women are more career orientated.

Individualisation- people are choosing to make more independent choices.

Examples:

ONS stats show cohabiting couples as the fastest growing family type.

The number of people getting married between ages 65 and 69 has increased.

An increase in the popularity of remarriage: Most people who remarry have been divorced.

Women are now more economically independent.

Examples:

Alan and Crow suggest that we now have a very high expectation of marriage.

Divorce reform act 1969.

An increase in divorce and marriage: Divorce spiked after the divorce reform act in 1969. Before that there was a ‘guilty party’ for a divorce to be granted.

Women have become more economically independent.

Increasing life expectancy and secularisation.

Examples:

In 2021, 63.1% of opposite sex divorces were petitioned by women.

Duncombe and Marsden: women’s triple shift…burdens caused by the combination of paid employment and traditional gender roles.

An increase in the number of lone parents: Women are more likely to become the primary caregiver.

There were nearly 2 million lone parents in 2024, a rise from 1.9 million in 2014.

Family patterns: Household patterns

An increase in the number of people returning to live with parents: As a result in increased higher educational employment, young women are more like young men in leaving and returning home.

People choose to stay with parents because of economic instability and rising house prices.

Examples:

1975 equal pay act.

Callender and Jackson (2005): Fear of debt and working-class, university participation.

An increase in the number of people cohabiting: Increase in secularisation means that cohabitation has less of a stigma and people are choosing not to marry.

Contraception means people have to worry less about marrying for children.

Examples:

In 2009, 46% of births were outside marriage, 90% of them were registered by both parents, showing they were raising children in a stable relationship.

Allan and crow noticed better contraception mean couples do not have to worry about pregnancy.

An increase in the number of people living alone:

Changing role of women: more women are choosing careers over marriage.

Secularisation.

Examples:

Out of all the cohabiting couples in 2014, 56% were women, 44% were men.

Equal pay act 1975.

Family patterns: an increase in the number of women having children later in life.

Increase in the power of women (changing role of women)

Improved employment opportunities.

Reduced fertility later in life, and increase in choice for women.

Secularisation.

Examples:

Equal pay act 1975.

Abortion laws.

Ideas about the family: Functionalism / new right

Family is essential as it performs important functions. Nuclear families are best.

Key theories: Parsons Murdock Murray Fletcher.

Key writers: Universality of family, Cockett & Tripp, McLanahan & Booth, South Asian families, Bhatti.

Criticisms: Diversity of family types, Bernades, Stacy, Feminist theory and studies, Laing, Leech, Cooper.

Ideas about the family: Marxist

Key ideas: Families help to maintain capitalism and marriage is a creation of capitalist society.

Key writers: Zaretsky, Marx, Engels.

Supporting evidence: Evans and Chandler; pester power.

Criticisms: Diversity, Rapoport & Rapoport.

Ideas about the family: Feminist.

Key ideas: Traditional families exploit women and children.

Key writers: Benston, Ansley, Millett, Oakley, Delphey and Leonard.

Supporting evidence: Duncombe and Marsden, Delphey & Leonard, Ferri & Smith, Edgell, Gershuny.

Criticisms: Weekes et al Diversity, Rapoport & Rapoport, Allen & Crow.

Ideas about the family: Postmodernist

Basic ideas: Traditional ideas about family are out of date. Diversity and choice are relevant today.

Key writers: Stacy, Beck-Gernsheim.

Supporting evidence: Weeks et al, Co-habitation, Inter-ethnic families.

The symmetrical family

For (Symmetrical family):

• Michael Young & Peter Willmott – Family evolved through 3 stages; Stage 3 = symmetrical family with shared domestic work, childcare and decision-making (stratified diffusion = change varies by social class).

• Stephen Edgell – Found increasing joint decision-making; more equality in middle-class marriages.

• Domestic division of labour = allocation of conjugal roles in the home.

Against:

• Ann Oakley – Gender roles shaped through manipulation (encouraging/discouraging behaviour by sex) and canalisation (channelling children into gender-typical activities).

• Jan Pahl – Men often control household finances and give wives housekeeping money.

• Talcott Parsons (Functionalist) – Roles based on biology: men = instrumental (breadwinner), women = expressive (homemaker/childcare).

The impact of paid work

Jonathan Gershuny argues there has been a gradual increase in equality due to a shift in norms and values around paid work.

Crompton accepts Gershunys link but explains it differently (considers economic factors.)

Man-Yee-Kan says that income can have a positive or negative correlation with the amount of work women do.

Silver and Schor says that housework has become commercialised.

Pahl and Vogler identified 2 main types of control over family income (Allowance system and pooling.)

Domestic violence

Domestic violence includes physical, sexual and emotional abuse. Dobash and Dobash found that male violence often stems from threats to male authority in a patriarchal nuclear family, where gender roles are normalised across generations. They argue marriage can legitimise violence. Stephanie Yearnshire found women suffer many assaults before reporting.

Historically, rape in marriage only became illegal in the UK in 1991, and many assaults go unreported (in 1993,1/10 women experienced domestic violence, and only 23% of them reported it.) Selbourne noted children are a major category of murder victims, highlighting the hidden nature of family violence.

Explanations of domestic violence.

Radical feminists: Erin Pizzey argues domestic violence stems from a patriarchal society, where men control women through the threat or use of violence. Critics say this overlooks male victims. Liberal feminists argue attitudes and laws have improved support for victims.

New Right: Domestic violence occurs in dysfunctional families due to instability. They claim feminists exaggerate male violence and ignore female violence. Feminists respond that male violence against women is more frequent and more serious.