Changing family patterns

When did divorce rates begin to increase?

1960’s

When did divorce rates reach their peak?

1993

What was the peak number of divorces in 1993?

165,000

What were the divorce rates in 2022?

80,000

Why has the divorce rates fallen since the 90’s?

less people are getting married

How many divorces are petitioned for by the wife?

62%

What is the most common reason cited for divorce?

unreasonable behaviour

Which couples are more likely to divorce?

ones who married young,had a child or cohabit before marriage,when one or both of the partners have been divorced before

What was the divorce law reform act ?

removed requirement of fault and allowed divorce on the grounds of irretrievable breakdown

What did the divorce,dissolution and separation change about divorce?

allowed for no fault divorce and for partners to apply together for divorce

What changes in law have been made on divorce?

equalising grounds for divorce ,widening grounds for divorce,making divorce cheaper

What problems can be cited as reasons for divorce?

desertion, adultery, unreasonable behaviour ect.

What other solutions are their to an unhappy marriage apart from divorce?

desertion,legal separation, empty shell marriage

What is desertion?

when one partner leaves but they remain legally married

What is legal separation?

when financial and legal affairs are separated but the couple is still married

What are ‘empty shell’ marriages?

when the couple live together but are married in name only

How has the stigma around divorce changed?

religious stigma has significantly reduced and as it is more common it is normalised

What did Mitchell and Goody theorise as the reason for the increase in divorce since the 60’s?

stigma of divorce has significantly reduced

How has church membership changed since 1930?

decreased from 10.6 million in 1930 to 5.5 million in 2010

What was weekly church attendance in 2023?

693,000

How has secularisation affected divorce rates?

less religious influence on society means that less people are influenced by religion when making decisions such as whether to get divorced

What does Fletcher theorise as the reason for increased divorce rates?

higher expectations of marriage

How has the idea of marriage changed over the last few centuries?

people expect romantic love and so if there is no love there is no reason to get married

What dis Allan and Crow say about marriage?

love, personal commitment and satisfaction are seen as the cornerstones of marriage

What does Fletcher say about the attitude towards marriage?

people have not rejected marriage just that partner as many people re-marry

What do feminists argue is the main reason for marital conflict and divorce?

women’s oppression

How has women financial independence impacted divorce rates?

women now have the option to leave their husbands and spouses are less dependent on each other

What do Allan and Crow say about how marriage and the economy are linked?

marriage is less embedded within the economic system

What allows women to leave their husband when their is conflict or lack of love?

not having to rely on their husband for money

What do feminists argue has created a new source of conflict in the family?

women bear a dual burden of paid work and domestic labour

What do feminists argue about progression in personal relationships?

progress is limited and slow and men still benefit from women ‘triple shift’

What does Hochschild argue about how women are treated at work vs in the home?

women are valued at work whereas at home men still refuse to do housework and as both partners work more conflict arises

What did Sigle- Rushton find about mothers who work vs mothers who don’t ?

mothers with a dual burden are more likely to get divorced than in traditional family but when the husband contributes equally to housework the divorce rate is the same for traditional family

What do Cooke and Gash argue about working women?

they are no more likely to get divorced as working has become the norm for married women

What does the rad.fem. Bernard argue about the higher divorce rate and that women are more likely to petition for divorce?

women are no longer accepting patriarchal marriages

What do Beck and Giddens argue about why the divorce rate has risen?

people now have pure relationships and don’t stay with each other if it doesn’t serve them

How has individualisation also led to the increase in divorce?

men and women are encouraged to work and pursue their own interests and ambitions which can create conflict of interests

How do the New right view the high divorce rate?

undermines the nuclear family and leads to a rise in single female parents who rely on the welfare state leading to poorer outcomes for those children

How do feminists see the high divorce rate?

shows women are breaking free from patriarchal oppression

How do postmodernists and individualisation thesis view the high divorce rate?

individuals have freedom to choose and causes greater family diversity

How do functionalist view the high divorce rates?

result of people’s higher expectations of marriage but people are still committed to the institution of marriage

How do interactionists view the high divorce rates?

cannot generalise about divorce as it is different for everyone

How does the personal life perspective view the high divorce rates?

society can adapt to normalised divorce and that it is a transition in life course

How many marriages were their in 2022?

247,000

What was the average age for first legal partnership in 2022?

31 for women and 33 for men

What percentage of people being married in 2022 had never been married before?

¾

What percentage of marriages in 2022 were religious?

17%

How has changing attitudes to marriage changed the number of marriages?

individuals can choose whether to get married or not and the quality of relationship is more important than whether they are married

How has secularisation influenced the numbers of marriages?

people feel freer not to marriage as the church has less influence over people

How does decreased stigma changed the number of marriages?

cohabitation, being single by choice and having children outside of marriage are now socially acceptable

How has changes in the position of women changed the number of marriages?

women are less economically dependent on men and so are free to not marry and feminists would view marriage as and oppressive patriarchal institution

How does fear of divorce change the number of marriages?

people are put off by marriage as they do not want to get divorced

Why do more people get re-married?

more people get divorced in the first place

Why do people get married later ?

they spend more time in education and seek to establish a career,couples often co-habit before getting married

Why do less people have church weddings?

secularisation, churches don’t marry divorcees

What is co-habitation?

an un-married couple in a sexual relationship living together

How many co-habiting couples are their in the UK in 2021?

3.6 million

What percentage of people view sex before marriage as wrong in 2013?

11%

Why are women more likely to opt for co-habitation now?

they have less need for the financial security of marriage

What did Coast find about cohabiting couples?

75% of cohabiting couples expect to get married

How is cohabiting seen by some?

trial marriage

What did Bejin find about some young cohabiting people?

it was a conscious attempt to create more equal relationships

What did Shelton and John find about women who cohabited compared to women who married?

women who cohabited did less housework than those who were married

What percentage of the population had same-sex relationships in 2012 according to Stonewall?

5-7%

What does Weeks argue as the reason for the increases in gay couples cohabiting ?

social acceptance

How does Weeks see the chosen families created by gay couples?

they offer the same stability and security as heterosexual couples

What do Allan and Crow say about same sex couples?

there is no framework for same sex couples so they have to negotiate their commitments and responsibilities more than opposite sex couples which could make them more unstable and flexible

What did Einasdottir find about same sex couples?

they would like to be legally recognised but it may limit the flexibility and negotiability like heterosexual couples

How many people are living alone in the UK in 2022?

8.3 million

What percentage of those living alone are 65+ in 2020?

51%

Why are more people living alone?

increased separation and divorce, more people choosing to be single

Why are men over 65 more likely to live alone?

in separation and divorce children are more likely to move in with the mother and the men are more likely to leave the family home

What is living apart together?

in a significant relationship but not cohabiting or married

What may the increase in Living apart together suggest about society?

people are moving towards less formalised relationships and ‘families of choice’

What did Duncan and Phillips find influenced people’s choices to live apart?

they couldn’t afford to or they actively choose to live apart as they wanted to keep their own space, it was too early to cohabit or they had a previous troubled relationship

What is the public attitude towards LAT?

positive

What percentage of children were born out of marriage?

46%

What is the average age for women to have their first child?

30

How has reducing stigma changed the number of births outside of a child?

people now think it is acceptable to have children outside of marriage

What does the change in childbearing in society suggest about women?

women have more options than motherhood, and seek to establish career before having children

How much more likely is a child to be living in poverty if they have one parents over 2?

twice more likely

What proportion of families were lone parents in 2023?

15%

What has led to the increase in lone parent families?

more divorce and separations, single women having children by themselves

Why are single parents households more likely to be female headed?

widespread to believe that women are better at being mothers, divorce courts usually give custody to women, men are less willing to give up work to care for children

Why do some women choose to be a lone parent

they do not want to cohabit or marry or to limit the fathers involvement in the child’s life

What did Renvoize find about professional mothers?

they were able to support their children without the help of the father

What did Cashmere find about working class women with less earning power?

they would choose to live on welfare without a partner as they have experienced abuse

What does Murray theorise as the reason for the increase in lone parents households?

overgenerous welfare state which provide an incentive for ‘irresponsible behaviour ‘ and has created a ‘dependency culture’

What does Murray say should be done to reduce the number of lone parents households?

abolish welfare benefits

How do people explain the differences in achievement of children raised by lone parents?

lack of affordable childcare, inadequate welfare benefits, gender pay gap, failure of fathers to pay maintenance

Which type of families are at higher risk of poverty?

single parent families and step families

What percentage of dependent children live in step-families in 2021?

8.8%

What did Ferri and Smith find about step-families?

step-families are the same to first families in all major respect apart from the fact that they are more vulnerable to poverty

What problems can step-families have according to Allan and Crow?

step-families may face divided loyalties and problems with contact with non-resident parents

What did McCarthy et al find about step-families?

tensions are often similar to tension in first families

Why are children more likely to be from the mother in step-families?

women are more likely to gain custody of children in separation

Why are step-families more likely to be in poverty?

more children to support and fathers often have to support other children

What may be the cause of tensions in families?

they is a lack of clear social norms of how to behave

Which ethnicity have the highest proportion of lone parents families?

Black-Caribbean and African

What are the possible reasons for the higher rates of lone parents in Black families?

in slavery the father was separated from children which could have set up a pattern that persisted ,higher rates of poverty and unemployment for black males