Changing patterns of divorce, marriage, cohabitation, partnership and childbearing

What are the three types of marriage breakdowns?

• Divorce

• Separation

• Empty-shell marriage

What is meant by divorce?

The legal termination of a marriage.

What is meant by separation?

When couples agree to live together after the breakdown of the marriage, however they remain legally married.

What is meant by empty-shell marriage?

Where a married couple stay together in name only, there is no love or intimacy left between them.

What are the key divorce trends since 2023?

• 42% of all marriages end in divorce

• 80% remarry

• 62% of all divorces are petitioned by women

What does the divorce reform act 1969 consist of?

This is when irretrievable breakdown was introduced meaning couples could get divorced on the basis that there is no hope of any reconciliation.

What does the Matrimonial and family proceedings act 1984 consist of?

This introduced the idea that couples could only get divorced after one year.

What does the family law act 1996 consist of?

This introduced the ‘no fault’ and ‘colling off’ period, which meant it gave the couple each time to reflect and agree on practical matters.

What does the new divorce dissolution and separation law act 2019 consist of?

It announced the plan to remove partners having to blame each other (evidence of child centeredness).

What are the five reasons for the increase in divorce?

• Changes in law

• Declining stigma and changing attitudes

• secularisation

• rising expectation of marriage

• changes in the position of women

How have changes in the law impacted divorce rates?

It has made it easier and cheaper to get divorced, it has also given men and women equal rights in divorce.

How has the decline in stigma and a change in social attitudes impacted divorce rates?

Divorce is no longer seen as a shameful thing to do. Giddens argues this is a consequence of people pursuing individual choices, as opposed to feeling confined by social attitudes.

How has secularisation impacted divorce rates?

This refers to the declining influence of religious beliefs. This has resulted in traditional religious beliefs about divorce being a sin have less impact on society.

What is evidence of traditional religious beliefs no longer impacting divorce rates?

This is reflected in the church’s softening attitudes towards divorce and divorcees.

How has rising expectations of marriage impacted divorce rates?

Higher expectations make couples less willing to tolerate an unhappy marriage, this is reflected by the higher re-marriage rates amongst divorced couples.

What do functionalists believe about the rising expectations of marriage?

Functionalists such as fletcher argue that the higher expectations people place on marriage today are a major cause of increasing divorce rates. The functionalist approach therefore argues that these rates reflect a better quality of those marriages which remain married.

How has the changes in the position of women impacted divorce rates?

This has led to an increase in the divorce rate because women’s economic conditions mean they no longer need to rely on a husband or even because of the availability of welfare benefits.

What is the functionalist view on divorce?

Fletcher argues its is because people now demand more of marriage and does not signify that marriage as a social institution is under threat, more people are more likely to end a marriage now that may have been acceptable in the past.

What is the new right view on divorce?

Argue that divorce statistics support their belief that there is a serious crisis in the family. According to them divorce undermines the traditional nuclear family. They believe divorce is too easy and as a result people are not committed to marriage as they once were.

What is the liberal feminist view on divorce?

The rise in divorce rates highlights the rise in opportunities women now have. They believe the contributing factor to divorce rates is the dual burden that women face. Many still argue that marriage remains patriarchal.

What does Hochschild say about divorce?

Argues that for many women, the home continues to compare unfavourably with work. At work, women feel valued whereas at home men’s continuing resistance to doing housework is a source of frustration and makes marriage less stable.

What do interactionists say about divorce?

Morgan argues that we cannot generalise the meaning of divorce because every individual interpretation of it is different.

What is the postmodernist view on divorce?

See high divorce rates as giving individuals the freedom to choose to end a relationship when it no longer meets their needs, they see it as the main cause of family diversity.

What is Wilby’s belief about monogamy?

Finds that the idea of a single partner for life is disappearing or has actually disappeared in the global north. Many favour serial monogamy, accepting that relationships that do not work are worth quitting.

What is meant by the marriage rate?

The number of people marrying per 1000 unmarried people over the age of 16 per year.

What are the key patterns of the marriage rate?

• Record number of same sex marriages (3.2% of all marriages)

• 9/10 who married in 2021/2021 were cohabiting prior to marriage

• the media age for marriage was 32 for men and 31 for women

How has changing attitudes impacted marriage rates?

There is less pressure to marry and more freedom for individuals to choose the type of relationship they want. Quality of the couples relationship is more important than the legal status of it.

What is the counter argument against changing attitudes and its impact on marriage rates?

Most people still aspire to be married, even those who are divorced remarry, suggesting that attitudes haven’t changed.

How has secularisation impacted marriage rates?

People are no longer being influenced by religious standards and beliefs but are choosing to do what is right for them.

What is the counter argument to secularisation and its impact on marriage rates?

Many groups or regions continue to be very religious, like the South Asian community.

How has the declining stigma to alternative marriages impacted marriage rates?

More people are just wanting t live with their partner, lone person households, same sex, meaning marriage isn’t seen as the only pathway.

What is the counter argument to the declining stigma towards alternative marriages and its impact on marriage rates?

The data suggests that married couples remain the most common type of family.

How have the changes to the position of women impacted marriage rates?

Women are now financially and socially independent meaning marriage is not necessary as a safety net, therefore they are prioritising career, friends and social life.

What is the counter argument to the changes to the positions of women and its impact on marriage rates?

Does not apply to all women e.g. working class and ethnic minority women are more likely to have gendered aspirations for marriage.

How has the fear of divorce impacted marriage rates?

Some prefer waiting longer to get married or not marrying at all because of the difficulty surrounding marriage breakdowns.

What is the conclusion of recent marriage trends?

First time marriage is becoming delayed, and many people now marry more than once. This shows that marriage is changing rather than simply being in decline.

What is cohabitation?

This is when an unmarried couple live together, without the legal responsibilities of being married.

What are the key patterns of cohabitation?

• The fastest growing family type in the Uk

• in the 60’s , 1/100 adults under 50 were cohabiting

• Proportion of people cohabiting has increased to 24.3% in 2021

What different meanings can cohabitation have for different couples?

• It can be a temporary or informal agreement

• An alternative/substitute for marriage

• acts as a preparation for marriage

What does Chester argue about cohabitation?

For most people cohabitation is a trial marriage, about 80% of first time marriages have been preceded by a period of cohabitation.

What does Chandler argue about cohabitation?

Cohabitation is now chosen as a long term alternative to marriage, which is reflected in the growth of children born outside of marriage.

What does Bejin argue about cohabitation?

Young people choose cohabitation as they see it as a more equal relationship than a patriarchal marriage.

What are the main reasons for changes in marriage and divorce?

• Changing role of women

• Changing social attitudes and reduced stigma

• Secularisation

• Rising divorce rate

• Reducing risk

What are the key trends in lone parent families?

• Remained consistent at 16.3%

• Lone mother family, 85%

• Lone father family, 15%

What are the key trends surrounding children?

• Those who have 2 children make up 41%

• Those with 3 children make up 14%

What is the average household size?

Average size was 2.36 residents.

How many people live alone?

8.4 million

How many men compared to women live with their parents?

33% of men compared to 22% of women.

What is meant by childbearing?

When babies are born in a parents life and how many children people are having.

What did Harper say about the patterns of childbearing?

Carried out research over many years which shows that the more education women are in society, the lower the fertility rate.

What is the total fertility rate as of 2021?

1.62 children per woman

What are the key patterns in childbearing?

• Younger age groups saw declining fertility rates but older groups saw the opposite

• women who reached aged 45 years in 2018, 19% were childless

• Proportion of women having just one child has risen

What is the new right perspective on child bearing and births outside of marriage?

In the 80’s and 90’s there were concerns over the ‘decline of traditional families’, thinkers like Murray blamed the generosity of the welfare state.

He believed it created ‘perverse incentives’, rewarding irresponsible behaviour which then creates a ‘dependency culture’.

What is the rate of teenage single parents?

At their lowest recorded, under 1%, the average age of a single parent is 39.

What did Silva say about childbearing and births outside of marriage?

Argues that concerns over lone parents and the welfare of children are an attempt to force women back into the traditional gender roles.

What did Blackstone say about child bearing and births outside of marriage?

Spent over 10 years researching the child free movement, arguing that childlessness has been looked on with pity rather than positively but that it is changing.

What are some examples of the impact of globalisation on changing family structures in the UK?

• Berthoud sees the higher proportion of lone parent families in the lack communities as connected to ‘modern individualism’

• Ballard states that south Asian families tend to be larger due to the higher value placed on extended families in Asian cultures.

• European migrants tend to have higher rates of nuclear families and low rates of divorce.