Increasing divorce rates - different perspective's views

New Right - Murray

• Marriage and PNF are vital to social stability

  • Divorce undermines this and is therefore undesirable

• Creates growing underlcass of welfare-dependent female lone parents who are a burden on the state

  • These female single parents leave boys without a male role model, resulting in poorer health and educational outcomes

Feminism

• Shows breaking free from PNF

  • Desirable

PoMo and individualisation thesis

• Shows individuals now have the freedom to end a relationship when it no longer meets thier needs

  • Desirable

• Cause of greater family diversity

Functionalism

• Isn’t a threat to marriage as still high re-marriage rate

• Result of high expectations

• Neither desirable or undesirable

Interactionist - Morgan (1996)

• Meaning of divorce is specific to individuals

• This means we can’t generalise

• Neither desirable or undesirable

Interactionist - Mitchell and Goody

• Father leaving can be the best or worst day of a child’s life

• Individual meaning

PLP - Smart (2001)

• Can cause financial difficulties and lack of child-parent contacts

• Divorce has become normalised and families adapt to life after divorce

• Not a major problem, just another transition amongst others in the life course