ethnic differences

Married couples - Asian and Asian British

Cohabiting - mixed

Lone parents - black and black British

Black families

• high proportion of lone parents families

• Matrifocal families

• compared to one in nine Asian families

Matrifocal families

Female headed families

Reason for black families being lone parents

• Family disorganisation - traced back to slavery, high rates of unemployment among black males

• Slavery - couples were sold separately - children with the mother = established a pattern of family life

• Male unemployment and poverty - men are less able to provide for their families - leading to desertion to marital breakdown

Ao3

• High value that black women place on independence so it is not a bad thing - Mirza

(South) Asian families

• Tend to be larger

• 4.4, 4.3, 3 persons per households

• Contain three households

• Extended family

• Act as support

• Need for assistance when migrating to Britain

• Ballard - spice of support

• Relatives often live near by

British Asian

• Nuclear rather than extended

• Nuclear rather than extended

• As a result younger age childbearing groups