A-level Sociology: Changing family patterns

What type of couples are at a greater risk of divorce?

• Couples who married young.

• Couples who had children before marriage.

• Couples who cohabited before marriage.

• Couples where at least one partner has been married before.

Outline the changes in divorce (and marriage) laws since the 19th century?

• 1857 - Men could divorce unfaithful wives, but women also had to prove their husband had been abusive.

• 1923 - Grounds for divorce equalised for husbands and wives.

• 1937 - Grounds widened to cruelty and desertion.

• 1949 - Legal aid made available.

• 1969 - Divorce Law Reform Act meant that irretrievable breakdown was now a grounds for divorce.

• 1984 - Can get a divorce after one year, instead of three.

• 1996 - Family law Act meant that couples had to seek mediation before finalising the divorce.

• 2004 - Civil Partnership Act meant that civil partnerships could be legally ended on the same grounds.

• 2007 - The start of all divorce settlements is 50-50,

What are the key explanations for the increase in divorce?

• Changes in the law.

• Decline in stigma and changing attitudes.

• Secularisation.

• Rising expectations in marriage.

• Women's increased financial independence.

• Feminist explanations.

• Modernity and individualism.

Why had changes to the law led to an increase in divorce?

• Easier for women to file for divorce.

• More reasons why someone can get a divorce.

• Divorce is more accessible to the working class.

Who talks about higher expectations for marriage?

Fletcher (1966)

What did Fletcher (1966) talk about in regards to marriage and divorce?

He argues that higher expectations of marriage are leading to more divorces.

What are the feminist explanations for the increase in divorce?

• Things have not improved for women in the private sphere - e.g. dual burden and triple shift.

• Hochschild (1997): for many women, the work place is a nicer place for women where they feel valued compared to the home.

• Single-Rushton (2007): women who suffer from a dual burden are more likely to get a divorce.

• AO3: Cooke and Gash (2010): counter this and say that no evidence working women get divorced more as it has become the norm.

What is Hochschild's (1997) explanation for the increase in divorce?

For many women, the work place is a nicer place for women where they feel valued compared to the home.

What was Single-Rushton's (2007) explanation from the rise in divorce?

Women who suffer from a dual burden are more likely to get a divorce.

Who criticised Single-Rushton (2007) and contradicted what they said?

Cooke and Gash (2010): counter Single-Rushton and say there is no evidence that working women get divorced more as it has become the norm.

Who talked about pure relationships?

Giddens (1992)

What did Giddens' (1992) talk about in terms of relationships, marriage and divorce?

• In a modern society, traditional norms such as duty no longer outweigh individuals' desires.

• People only seek out pure relationships and the rise in divorce normalises this/is caused by this.

What thesis supports Giddens' ideas?

The individualisation thesis

What does the rise in divorce rates mean to the New Right?

See it as a cause for concern as the traditional nuclear family is ideal for a stable society.

What does the rise in divorce mean to feminists?

They see it as women breaking away from their oppression caused by men and the nuclear family.

What does the rise in divorce mean to postmodernists?

They see it as a sign that individuals have greater freedom and choice and a big cause for family diversity.

What does the rise in divorce rates mean to functionalists?

It doesn’t greatly threaten society but is a result of people’s high expectations and the high rate of re-marriage show that people still like the idea of marriage.

What does the rise in divorce rates mean to interactionists?

Morgan (1996) - want to know what divorce means to each individual and we can’t generalise what the increase in divorce represents.

What does the rise in divorce rates mean to the personal life perspective?

• It acknowledges that divorce can cause problems.

• Smart (2011): family life can adapt to divorce without disintegrating as it has become normalised.

Describe the recent trends in marriage?

• Fewer people are marrying for the first time; marriage rates have been at their lowest since the 1920s.

• More remarriages and serial monogamy taking place.

• People are getting married later.

• The average age of first marriage has risen by seven years since 1978.

• Couples are less likely to get married in a church.

  • Religious marriages 60% in 1970 → 20% in 2018

What are the reasons for the changes in marriage patterns?

• Secularisation, decline in stigma, changes in the position of women, and fear of divorce are all reasons for the changing patterns in marriage.

• The rise in the number of divorces has caused a rise in the number of remarriages.

• Young people postpone marriage to gain more education and focus on their careers.

• Couples are also spending more time cohabiting before getting married.

• Secularisation means that fewer people are getting married in a church.

• Many religions don’t marry divorcees, which is now a large number of people who are getting married.

What is cohabitation?

An unmarried couple in a sexual relationship living together.

What is the general trend in regards to cohabitation?

The number of cohabiting couples has began to rise.

What are the reasons for the rise in cohabitation?

• Decline in stigma surrounding premarital sex.

  • In 2012, 65% of people agreed that “premarital sex is not wrong at all”.

• The young are more likely to accept cohabitation.

• Women no longer need the financial security that comes with heterosexual marriage.

• Secularisation means that less people see premarital sex as a sin.

What did Chester say about cohabitation?

That it is just part of the process towards marriage.

What did Coast's (2006) study about cohabitation reveal?

That 75% of cohabitating couples said that they expect to marry each other.

What did Shelton and John (1993) find out about cohabitation and the domestic division of labour?

That women who cohabit do less housework.

What did Benjin (1985) say about cohabiting couples?

By cohabiting they are making the conscious decision to create a more equal relationship.

Outline the timeline of same-sex relationships and the law.

• 1967 - Male homosexual acts decriminalised for adults over the age of 21.

• 2000 - The age of consent made the same for homosexual couples (16).

• 2004 - The Civil Partnership Act gave same-sex couples similar legal rights to married couples regarding pensions, inheritances and property.

• 2014 - The Marriage (Same-Sex Couples) Act meant that same-sex couples could get married.

What did Weeks (1999) discuss in their study about same-sex relationships?

• Argued that increased social acceptance led to more same-sex cohabiting couples that mirror stable heterosexual couples.

• Lesbians and gay men see friendships as kinship and create their families based on that idea

• This is known as chosen families.

What did Weston (1992) discuss in their research about same-sex couples?

• They described same-sex cohabitation as a quasi-marriage and noticed that more same-sex couples are choosing this lifestyle.

• This contrasts the lifestyle of homosexuals in the 1970s who rejected monogamy and a family-orientated lifestyle.

What did Allan and Crow argue in their study on same-sex couples?

The legal framework only being introduced recently means that same-sex couples can negotiate their responsibilities more freely than married couples.

According to Einasdottir (2011), why do more same-sex couples opt for cohabitation?

Some same-sex couples are wary of having their partnership legally recognised as it may limit the flexibility in their relationship and don't wish to impose heterosexual norms onto their relationship.

Describe the patterns for one-person households?

• Fewer people are living in couples.

• In 2019, three in ten households contained only one person (a fifth more than in 1999).

• Half of all one-person households are over the age of 65.

• Pensioner one-person households have doubled since 1961.

• Non-pensioner one-person households have tripled.

• Men under the age of 65 are most likely to live alone.

What are the reasons for the patterns of one-person households?

• Increase in divorce.

• Children are less likely to live with their fathers after a divorce.

• Decline in marriage and people choosing to get married later.

• People choosing to be single - i.e. creative singlehood.

• Older widows don't have many partners available to them.

What does LAT stand for?

Living Apart Together

What does living apart together mean?

Being in a significant relationship but you're not married or cohabiting.

According the British Social Attitudes Survey (2013), what proportion of adults are living apart together?

1 in 10 adults

What are the reasons why someone may choose LAT?

• Out of choice - e.g. too early to cohabit or wanting to keep their house.

• Out of necessity - e.g. cannot afford to cohabit.

What are the recent trends in childbearing?

• Nearly half of all children are born outside of wedlock but often the parents are cohabiting.

• Women are having children later - the average age of birth has increased since 1971.

• Women are having fewer children compared to last century.

• More women are remaining childless.

What are the reasons for the change in childbearing?

Decline in stigma lead to an increase in births outside of wedlock. Only 28% of 25-34 year olds think marriage should come before parenthood. Women now have more options available other than motherhood.

What are the trends for lone-parent families?

• Make up 24% of all families with children.

• 90% of lone-parent families are matrifocal.

• Since the 1990s, women who have never been married make up the majority of lone mothers.

What are the reasons for the trends/increase found in lone parent families?

• Increase in divorce and separation.

• Increase in the number of unmarried women having children.

• Decline in the stigma attached to births outside of wedlock.

• Death is no longer a significant cause for lone-parent families.

What are the reasons why lone-parent families tend to be in poverty?

• Lack of affordable childcare makes it hard for lone parents to work.

• Benefits aren’t sufficient.

• Most lone parents, women, typically earn less than women.

• Fathers fail to pay maintenance.

What are some explanations for why some women choose to be single mothers?

• Renvoise (1965): Professional women were able to support their children without the father's involvement.

• Cashmore (1985): Some working-class mothers choose to live single and on benefits, often due to experiences of abuse.

What does Murray (1984) claim about lone-parent families in his study?

• The growth of lone-parent families is a result of the welfare state.

• The welfare state has created a perverse incentive as it rewards irresponsible behaviour.

• It creates a dependency culture as people assume the state will support them and their children

What are some criticisms of Murray and the New Right?

• Lack of affordable childcare makes it hard for lone parents to work.

• Benefits aren't as sufficient as he claims.

• Most lone parents are women who tend to earn less than men.

• Fathers fail to pay maintenance allowance.

What are the patterns found in stepfamilies?

• Account for over 10% of families with dependent children.

• In 85% of stepfamilies at least one child is the mother’s.

• In 11%, at least one child is the father’s.

• In 4% are there children from both relationships

What are the reasons for the trends found in stepfamilies families?

• Factors → the increase in divorce are also → the increase in stepfamilies e.g. secularisation, decline in stigma, change in laws etc

• Children are more likely to remain with their mothers when a marriage breaks up.

• More at risk of poverty as they often have more children and the stepfather may be expected to provide for his biological children.

• Tension is due to the fact that clear social norms on how to organise stepfamilies don’t exist

What did Ferri and Smith (1998) say in their study about stepfamilies?

Stepfamilies are very similar to first families in multiple aspects, however they are at a greater risk of poverty.

What did Allan and Crow (2001) say in their study on stepfamilies?

Stepfamilies may face problems with divided loyalties and maintaining contact with non-resident parents.

What did McCarty et al (2003) say about stepfamilies?

• There is diversity amongst stepfamilies, so we can’t generalise by calling it “the stepfamily”.

• E.g. there are varying degrees of tension amongst stepfamilies.

What were the trends Berthoud (2000) found amongst White British families?

• In comparison, had lower marriage and fertility rates.

• Smaller family sizes.

• Married later in life.

• Relatively high rates of cohabitation and divorce.

• Arranged marriages are extremely uncommon.

• Interracial marriage is fairly common.

• Making a separate household after marriage is the norm.

What are the trends Berthoud (2000) identified amongst Black British Caribbean families?

• Lowest marriage rates out of all the groups.

• Similar fertility rate to white British families.

• High rates of lone parenthood.

• 43% of families with children are lone-parent families.

• High rates of interracial marriage

What is one reason Berthoud (2000) gave for why black Caribbeans are more likely to live in matrifocal lone-parent households?

Within these "mother households" they are able to rely on the support of female kin and fictive kin.

What did Reynolds say about the number of Black Caribbean women living in lone-parent households?

Argues that these statistics are misleading as these women aren't lone parents as they receive stable support from a partner that they don't cohabit with.

What was Mirza's (1997) explanation for the patterns found in Black Caribbean families?

The high rates of matrifocal lone-parent families reflect how female independence is valued within that community.

What was Berthoud's (2000) conclusion on his research looking at family patterns amongst different ethnic groups?

• He claimed that all groups were moving away from traditional values and towards modern individualism.

• This means that choice and freedom are becoming more important than obligations and commitments.

• Caribbeans are ahead of this trend, whilst South Asians are behind

What did Parsons say about the extended family?

That it was the dominant family type in pre-industrial society, but has now been replaced by the nuclear family.

What Charles (2008) find out about the extended family when doing his research in Swansea?

• Found that the classic extended family was "all but extinct".

• The only exception to this was the Bangladeshi community."

What did Willmott (1988) say about the extended family?

The extended family continues to exist, but instead as the dispersed extended family.

What is the dispersed extended family?

Where relatives are geographically separate but maintain frequent contact through visits and phone calls.

What did Chamberlain (1999) say about extended Caribbean families?

• Despite being geographically dispersed, they continue to support each other.

• She described this as multiple nuclear families.

What did Bell's (1968) research of the extended family in Swansea also show?

• Both classes had support from and emotional connections with the extended family.

• For the middle class, this was often as financial support between fathers and sons.

• For the working class, this was often as frequent contact and domestic help between mothers and daughters.

What is the beanpole family?

A type of extended family with three or more generations, but few people in each generation.

What are the main reasons for the increase in the beanpole family?

• Increase life expectancy - more surviving grandparents and great-grandparents.

• Smaller family sizes - people have fewer siblings, meaning the family isn't as extended horizontally.

What did Finch and Mason (1993) say about obligations to relatives?

• They found that over 90% of people had given or received financial help and half had cared for a sick relative.

• This shows that people still feel obligated to help extended kin.

• However, this support is more expected from female relatives than male relatives.

Who said that statistics are misleading as black women aren't lone parents as they receive stable support from a partner that they don't cohabit with?

Reynolds