Changing Family Patterns

Divorce

Judicial declaration dissolving a marriage

Annulment

Marriage was nit legal and did not happen at all

Voided Annulment

• under 16

• already

• forced

• close family member

Defective Annulment

• not consummated (opposite sex only)

• not consented due to drugs and alcohol

• one partner has an STI prior to marriage

• woman is pregnant by another man at time of marriage

Divorce Trends

Increased since 1950s

• 41% of couples have divorced before their 25th wedding anniversary

Divorce Causes: Changes in Laws

Divorce was very difficult to obtain in 19th century Britain - overtime made easier!

• equalising the groups (the legal reasons) for divorce

• widening the grounds for divorce

• making divorce cheaper

Divorce Causes: Changes in Laws - increase

• 1923: sharp increase in the number of divorce petitions by women - the grounds for divorce were equalised

• 1971: ‘irretrievable breakdown’ made divorce easier to obtain and produced a doubling of the divorce rate (almost overnight)

• 1949: lowered the cost of divorcing

Divorce rates have risen with each change in the law

Divorce Causes: Changes in Laws - alternative solutions

• Desertion: one partner leaves the other, but the couple remain legally married

• Legal Separation: where a court separate the financial and legal affairs of the couple but where they remain married and are not free to re-marry

• ‘Empty shell’ marriage: where the couple continue to live under the same roof but remain married in name only

However, as divorce has become easier to obtain, these solutions have become less popular

Divorce Causes: Secularisation

Refers to the decline in the influence of religion

• traditionally opposition of the churches to divorce carries less weight - people less likely to be influenced by religious teachings

• many churches soften their views on divorce and divorcees - fear losing credibility with large sections

Divorce Causes: Changing Social Attitudes and Reduced Stigmas - Mitchell and Goody

Important changes since the 1960s has been the rapid decline in the stigma attached to divorce

• more socially acceptable

• regarded simply as misfortune

Divorce Causes: Rising Expectation of Marriage - Fletcher (Functionalist)

People place higher expectations on marriage

• higher expectations make couples less willing to tolerate an unhappy marriage

Ideology of romantic love: belief that marriage should be based solely on love - if love dies they should no longer be married

Divorce Causes: Rising Expectation of Marriage - Allan and Crow

“The absence of these feelings is itself justification for ending the relationship” (love)

Divorce Causes: Rising Expectation of Marriage - Functionalist Positive

Optimistic view and state that marriage is still popular

• marriage is still an institution: not being rejected by society - re-marriage rates remain high after divorce

Divorce Causes: Feminists Negative

Too rosy of a view

• oppression of women within the family is the main cause of marital conflict and divorce - functionalists ignore this

• functionalists explain rising divorce rates but fail to explain why it is mainly women rather than men who seek divorce

Divorce Causes: Changes to the role of Women

Women are now less financially dependant

• women generally still earn less than men - equal pay and anti-discrimination: narrow pay gap

• girls’ greater success in education

• the availability of welfare benefits

Divorce Cause: Changes in the role of Women - Feminism

Married women still have dual burden and triple shift = conflict

• improvements in the private sphere does not reflect the limited changes

Divorce Cause: Changes in the role of Women - Single-Rushton (Feminism)

Mothers who have a dual burden of paid work and domestic work are more likely to divorce than non-working mothers in marriages with a traditional division of labour

Divorce Cause: Changes in the role of Women - Hochschild (Feminism)

For many women - work is a place they feel valued, whereas at home, men’s continuing resistance: a source of frustration and makes marriages less stable

• women have less time and energy for the emotional work

• higher divorce rates

Divorce Cause: Changes in the role of Women - Cooke and Gash (Feminist - Negative)

Found no evidence that working women are more likely to divorce

• work has now become the accepted norm for married women

Divorce Cause: Changes in the role of Women - Bernard (Feminist - Negative)

Radical Feminist

The rising divorce rate & most petitions coming from women - growing acceptance of feminist ideas

• Women are becoming aware of patriarchal oppression and more confident about rejecting it

Divorce Cause: Changes in the role of Women - Beck and Giddens (Modernity and individualisation)

There has been a change of norms in modern society, such as the duty to be with the same partner for life

• Individualisation Thesis: everyone becomes free to pursue their self-interest

• Individuals become more unwilling to remain with a partner if they fail to deliver person fulfilment

Divorce Cause: Changes in the role of Women - Giddens (Modernity and individualisation)

Individuals seek a ‘pure relationship’: one that exists solely to satisfy each partner’s need

Rising divorce rate normalises divorce and strengthens this belief - conflict of interest between spouses and contribute to marital breakdown

Impacts of Changing Divorce Rate - Feminism

High Divorce = DESIRABLE - women’s liberation

• women are breaking free of the oppression of the patriarchal nuclear family

Impacts of Changing Divorce Rate - Interactionist (Morgan)

Divorce means something different for every couples

• Morgan: cannot generalise about the meaning of high divorce

Everyone has different experiences

Impacts of Changing Divorce Rate - The New Right

Divorce = UNDESIRABLE - undermines the tradition nuclear family

• creates an underclass of welfare dependant female lone parents

• leaves young boys without a male role model

Impacts of Changing Divorce Rate - Postmodern

High divorce shows people have the freedom to choose to end a relationship if it no longer meets their needs

• major cause of family diversity

Impacts of Changing Divorce Rate - Personal life (Smart)

Divorce can cause problems

• Smart argues that divorce has become ‘normalised’ - families can adapt to it without disintegrating

Divorce is just one transition in a person’s life course

Impacts of Changing Divorce Rate - Functionalist

High divorce rate does not prove that marriage as a social institution is under threat - people just have high expectations

• still high remarriages to show commitment to marriage

Marriage

Refers to the formal and legal recognition of two people as partners in an intimate relationship

Civil Partnership

Legal relationship which can be registered by two people who aren’t related to each other

ONTS Statistics on Marriage: 2020

The average age at marriage for opposite-sex couples - 35.3 years for men & 32.2 for women

• only 15% of opposite-sex marriages were religious ceremonies

Civil Partnership Trends: 2022

More civil partnerships for opposite-sex couples

• same-sex common age: 25-34

• opposite-sex common age: 55-64

First-Marriage Decline Causes: Changes attitudes to marriage

Change in Norms and Values surrounding marriage

• less pressure to marry and more freedom for individuals to choose the type of relationship they want

• QUALITY > legal state

First-Marriage Decline Causes: Secularisation

Churches are in favour of marriage

• Influence declines = People feel freer to choose not to marry

First-Marriage Decline Causes: Declining Stigma of alternative to marriage

Cohabitation, remaining single, children outside of marriage = widely regarded as acceptable

• pregnancy no longer automatically leads to a ‘shotgun wedding’

• 1989: 70% believed couples who want children should get married

  → 2012: only 42% thought so

First-Marriage Decline Causes: Changes in the position of Women

Better educational and career prospects, many women are not less economically dependent on men

• feminist view: marriage is an oppressive patriarchal institution which may also dissuade some women from marrying

First-Marriage Decline Causes: Changes in the position of Women - Ruspini

Transformations in family life are closely linked to changing gender roles

• dramatic changes in the position of women at the end of WW2 and the 1960s and 70s

• Wider availability of reliable contraception: greater control over reproduction - reduced likelihood of getting pregnant (marriage to legitimise a pregnancy)

First-Marriage Decline Causes: Fear of Divorce

With the rising divorce rate - some may be put off marring because they see the increased likelihood of marriage ending in divorce

Causes for Other Changes in Marriage are: Remarriages

The main reason for the increase in remarriages is the rise in the number of divorces

Causes for Other Changes in Marriage are: Age on Marrying

Age at which couples marrying is rising

• young people are postponing marriage to spend longer in full-time education: establish a career first

• more cohabitation

Causes for Other Changes in Marriage are: Church Weddings

Couples nowadays are less likely to marry in church:

• secularisation

• many churches refuse to marry divorcees

Causes for Other Changes in Marriage are: Over 65 Marriage and Divorce

The number of Brides and Grooms aged 65 and over went up by 46% in a decade

• from 7468 in 2004 to 10937 in 2014

Cohabitation

Refers to situations in which two people live together and are involved in an emotional and/or sexually intimate relationship

Types of Cohabitation

• Temporary informal Arrangement

• Alternative to Marriage

• Preparation for Marriage

Cohabitation Trends: 2011 → 2021

The proportion of people who live in a couple that are cohabitating has increased from 20.6% to 24.3%

Cohabitating and Childbearing Trends

Nearly half of all children (47%) are born outside of marriage

Causes of Cohabitation: Test runs for Marriage

Many see cohabitation as a trail marriage and intend to marry if it goes well

• for some cohabitation is a temporary phase before marriage

• some see cohabitation as a permanent alternative to marriage

Causes of Cohabitation: Test runs for Marriage - Bejin

Cohabitation among some young people represents a conscious attempt to create a more personally negotiated and equal relationship than conventional patriarchal marriage

• women who cohabit do less homework

Causes of Cohabitation: Economic Reasons

Change in position of women means that they are less likely to marry for economic security

• huge increase in marriage costs - UK couples on average spend £20,775 on their weddings

Causes of Cohabitation: Change Attitudes to Marriage - Morgan

Sees it as part of a worrying trend in which marriage is going out of fashion - family is in serious decline

• ‘increase in sexual partners and partner changes’

Causes of Cohabitation: Change Attitudes to Marriage - Chandler

People are choosing to cohabit as a long-term alternative to marriage

• reflected in the increasing proportion of children born out of marriage

Causes of Cohabitation: Secularisation

Young people without religious preferences are more likely to cohabit than those with a religion

Causes of Cohabitation: Living Apart Together - Levin

LATS - long-term commitment, intimate relationships where individuals involve themselves as a couple but do not share a common house by choice

Causes of Cohabitation: Living Apart Together - Duncan and Phillips

Found that 1 in 10 adults are living together apart

Found that both choice and a constraint play a part in whether couples live together - majority actively chose to live apart

• 20% see LATS as their ‘ideal relationship’

Concluded that LAT’s are no longer seen as abnormal, it probably does not amount to a rejection of more traditional relationships