Reasons for the increase in divorce rates

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13 Terms

1
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Legislation - grounds for divorce

1923 - grounds of divorce equalised for men and women

2
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Legislation - legal aid

  • 1949 - legal aid available, making divorce more affordable

  • Divorce no longer discriminating on financial grounds

3
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Legislation - reasons for divorce

  • 1969 - Divorce Law Reform Act

    • No longer had to be a divorce by fault

    • Could file for divorce on the grounds of ‘irretrievable breakdown’ of a marriage

      • Fewer unhappy marriages tolerated

4
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Legislation - same-sex marriage

  • 2014 - SS marriage legalised

  • Same grounds of divorce for queer and straight marriage

  • Lavender and beard marriages broke down as the queer member(s) could marry their actual partner

5
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Stigma and changing attitudes - role of the Church

  • Churches condemn divorce and refused to conduct marriages between divorcees

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Stigma and changing attitudes - Mitchell and Goody (1997)

  • Decrease in stigma has made divorce more socially acceptable

  • Couples are more willing to divorce to solve marital problems

7
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Secularisation - influence of religion in society

  • Decreasing influence of religion in society (‘be fruitful and multiply)

    • Shown by historical lows in church attendance rates

  • Opposition of churches to divorce carries less weight

    • Churches have also softened their views on divorce due to fear of losing credibility

  • People are less likely to be influenced by religious teachings (‘be fruitful and multiply) when making personal decisions

8
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Rising expectations of marriage - Fletcher (1966) - views on romantic love

  • Functionalist

  • High expectations of marriage cause an increase in divorce rates

    • Members less willing to tolerate an unhappy marriage

  • Romantic love

    • Marriage should be solely based on love

    • Every individual has a Miss/Mr Right out there

  • RL leads to idea that if love dies, there’s no longer any justification to remain married

    • Members divorce to renew search for their true soulmate

9
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Rising expectations of marriage - Fletcher (1966) - the past

  • Used to have litte choice in who married who

  • Family was a unit of production

    • Marriage for economic reasons and out of duty to family

  • Low expectations of marriage and therefore less likely to be dissatisfied with absence of romance/intimacy

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Rising expectations of marriage - Allen and Crow (2001) - personal fulfilment

  • Marriage no longer a binding contract

  • Marriage is a relationship in which individuals can seek personal fulfilment

    • Divorce if don’t find this

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Rising expectations of marriage - optimism

  • High rate of re-marriage shows that divorcees haven’t lost faith in the institution of marriage

12
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Women’s increasing financial independence - reasons for it and why it leads to an increase in divorce rates

  • Women less financially dependent on their husbands as more likely to be in paid work

    • Can fulfil both instrumental and expressive roles themselves

    • Freer to end an unsatisfactory marriage

Reaons:

  • Anti-discrimination laws have narrowed the pay gap

  • Girls’ educational success means they can achieve better paid jobs

  • Welfare decreases financialy dependency

  • Fewer family firms as family no longer a unit of production

    • Spouses no longer so dependent on each other

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Women’s increasing financial independence - % of women working

  • 1971 - 53%

  • 2020 - 72%