Implications of increased net migration

What is said about cultural diversity in family structures?

• Certain communities are associated with different structures.

• Berthoud (2000) notes that over 50% of African-Caribbean families are headed by a single parent, whereas Pakistani and Bangladeshi families are most likely to be nuclear or extended.

What about cultural diversity for African-Caribbean families?

• Chamberlain and Goulbourne (2001) researched African-Caribbean family structures.

  • Argue there’s an increasing trend of women who choose to raise children independently from their child’s father due to the struggles that men face with employment and the police.

  • Discuss the importance of the extended family within the community as single mothers have a wide support network that stretches beyond biological ties.

• Gilroy (2003) argues that the promotion of the nuclear family is mainly influenced by what ‘Western European’ countries believe a ‘conventional’ family looks like.

  • Uses the assumption that all families need a father to be effective at raising children.

  • Believes the ‘matriarchal’ nature of these families originates from the slave trade, which was essentially caused by the white population.

What about Asian families and cultural diversity?

• Tend to be more traditional than other ethnic groups.

• Berthoud (2000) found that marriage is highly valued and therefore cohabitation and divorce are rare.

• There’s also evidence to suggest there’s very little intermarriage between Asians and other ethnic groups.

  • Could be due to levels of arranged marriages in Asian communities.

What is said about increase in dual-heritage and hybrid identities?

• Eriksen (2007) states there’s been an increase in children who’re born in the UK to parents where one or both are from another country.

• Consequently, children form a unique identity that blends together their family heritage with influences from contemporary UK culture.

What about these identities in African-Caribbean families?

• Platt (2009) claims these people are most likely community to marry someone from another ethnic group, specifically white people.

• Only a minority of them are married to each other.

• Led to an increase in mixed race relationships and mixed race children to such an extent that only 25% of African-Caribbean children have two black parents.

What about these identities and Asian families?

• Modood (1997) discusses tensions that can arise within different generations of the Asian community.

  • As third and fourth generation Asian migrants have been raised in the UK, they may have different views from their parents and grandparents when it comes to religion and family diversity.

• Woodhead (2001) claims that Muslim girls, in particular, are finding ways in which to stay true to their religion while also making a commitment to British culture by creating a ‘hybrid identity’.

• Eade (1994) found second-generation Bangladeshi Muslims in Britain created ‘hierarchical identities’ in that they saw themselves as Muslims first, Bangladeshi second and British third.