changing family patterns - notes

Divorce

  1. Doubled between 1961 & 1969 and then doubled again by 1972

  2. Around 40% of all marriages will end in divorce

  • Criticism

Stats fail to consider separations without divorce, empty shell marriages, the number of unhappy marriages prior to law changes

Reasons

  • Changes in law:

~ Equalising the grounds for divorce for both sexes 1923

~ Legal aid 1949 made divorce cheaper

~ Divorce Reform Act 1969 - introduced no-fault divorce (no requirement to prove adultery or desertion) & recognised DV was a reason to leave a marriage

  • Decline in stigma - divorce has become more normalised with couples, they’re now willing to resort to divorce than stay in an unhappy marriage. In some cases its celebrated, which is seen in an increase in ‘divorce parties’

Beck & Giddens - emphasises that people in our modern society are exercising their individual choices & personal happiness above all else

  • Secularisation - decline in religion

The traditional opposition of the churches to divorce carries less weight in society and people are less likely to be influenced by religious teachings about personal matters

Church’s have begun softening their views on divorce in fear of losing credibility & following

Marriage is no longer a sacred contract formed from religious values but a more practical & personal commitment → breaks down easier when its purpose is lost

  • Rising expectations

Fletcher

In the past people did not have much choice over who they married since family would often contract marriages, since they were entering marriage with low expectations they were less likely to be dissatisfied by the absence of romance

Now, marriage is viewed as something for personal fulfilment and requires romance → become hypercritical of ourselves & our partners - Romanticism

  • Women’s increased financial independence - due to feminism, women’s economic position has improved - freer to seek divorce as they are less dependent on their husbands

  1. Proportion of working women rose from 50% in 1970 to 70% in 2015

  2. Equal Pay Act 1970

  3. Sex Discrimination Act 1975 - ensures women can get any type of job

Dunscombe & Marsden - with women’s shift into the world of work there has been a growing issue of women experiencing the triple shift → frustration, tension, and feeling devalued

2/3’s of divorces are initiated by women

Marriage

  1. 1978 the average age of marriage was 21, in 2018 the average age is 32 - marrying later in life

  2. Fewer people are marrying

  3. Increase in rearranges

Reasons

  • Changing attitudes

  • Secularisation

  • Declining stigma to alternatives

  • Changes in women’s positions

  • Fear of divorce

Same sex relationships

  1. Stonewall 2012 (the campaign for LGBT rights) estimates that 5-7% of the adult population have same-sex relationships

  2. Impossible to know whether this has increased or not due to legality & stigma which meant these relationships were largely hidden

  3. Evidence of growing acceptance:

~ Decriminalisation of male homosexual acts 1967

~ Same-sex marriage legalised 2013

One person households

  1. 2019 - almost 3 in 10 households contained only one person

  2. Men under 65 were the group most likely to live alone

  3. By 2030 roughly 30% of the adult population will be single

Reasons

  • Increase in separation & divorce - especially among men under 65 since following a divorce children usually live with the mother

  • Decline in marriage - also means more people are remaining single → creative singlehood (deliberate choice to live alone)

  • Living apart together relationships - increasing

Childbearing

  1. 1970, the average age at the birth of their first child was 24, in 2019 it was 30 - having children later in life

  2. Amount of children dropped from 3 per woman in 1970 to 1.5 in 2020

  3. More women are remaining childless

Reasons

  • Decline in stigma & increase in cohabitation - has led to less people believing marriage should come before parenthood

  • Changes in women’s positions - women now have more options than just motherhood, many seek to establish a career beforehand

Sue Sharpe - study of similar groups of women in the 70’s & 90’s

70’s - women wanted marriage, children, a happy home

90’s - women wanted education, a career, to find the right partner

Ethnic differences in family patterns

  • Berthoud

British-Asian families:

~ More traditional family structure

~ Higher rates of marriage

~ Lower rates of cohabitation & divorce

~ Couples tend to marry earlier

~ Arranged marriages are relatively common as a cultural practice to reinforce social ties, security, & financial protection

~ Typically have extended families due to obligation to assist and respect elders

Brannen - identified 2 types of extended families amongst British Asians

Black-British Caribbean families:

~ Lower rates of marriage

~ Higher rates of lone parenthood - due to a high value being placed on female independence and black men struggle to gain employment which leads to them being viewed as a burden