divorce

• divorce is a major cause of changing family patterns

  and increased family diversity

  • break up of nuclear and symmetrical families
  • The creation of lone parent families
  • the creation of single-person households.
  • The creation of reconstituted families
• 65% of the time women initiate divorces, in 1946 only 37% of divorces were initiated by women.
• • since the 1960s the number of divorces has greatly increased.
  • The number of divorces doubled between 1961 and 1969, and doubled again by 1972 (divorce reform act )
  • the peak number of divorces per year was 1993 approximately 165,000 divorces.
  • Between 2004 and 2018 the number of divorces has fallen, but the number of divorces is now rising again.
• The percentage of marriages which end in divorce changes depending on the year the marriage took place.
• key trends:

  • the average length of a marriage before it ends in divorce is 12.3 years.
  • The average age for men and women getting divorced is rising.
  • 74% of divorces are first marriages; 26% of divorces occurred in second marriages
• reasons for the changing trends and patterns for divorce in society:

  • changes in law
  • Declining stigma and changing attitudes.
  • secularisation
  • rising expectations of marriage
  • changes to the position of women
  • modernity and individualisation
• CHANGES IN LAW:

  • the divorce reform act 1969
  • the civil partnership act 2004
  • same-sex couples act 2013
• CHANGES IN LAW:

  • laws allowing divorce to be more easily obtained has caused the rate of divorce to increase. The legal aid and advice act 1949 made divorce and legal advice accessible to those with low incomes.
  • The grounds for divorce have also changed, making it easier for a divorce to be obtained. if there are more reasons to grant a divorce, the number of divorces will rise.
• DECLING STIGMA AND CHANGING SOCIAL ATTITUDES:

  • less negative stigma attached to divorce.
  • divorce is more socially acceptable.
  • divorce is 'normalised'
• DECLING STIGMA AND CHANGING SOCIAL ATTITUDES:

  Mitchell and Goody (1997)

  • The rapid decline in the stigma of divorce since the 1960s is linked closely to the rising rates of divorce we see in society today. As stigma decreases, the number of divorces increases.
  • People increasingly choose divorce as the solution to their marital problems.
• SECULARISATION:

  • "the process whereby religious beliefs, practices and institutions lose their importance or influence; the decline of religion"
  • religion as an institution has traditionally encouraged and supported marriage.
  • people are less likely to be influenced by religion and its teachings about personal matters.
• RISING EXPECTATIONS OF MARRIAGE:

  Fletcher (1966)

  • 'romantic love' has become dominant in the last hundred years.
  • higher expectations of marriage in today's society makes divorce more likely, as people are less likely to tolerate unhappiness in marriage.
• RISING EXPECTATIONS OF MARRIAGE:

  Fletcher (1966)

  remarriage rates support this theory.

  -> individuals may become dissatisfied with a particular partner, but are not dissatisfied with a particular partner, but are not dissatisfied with marriage as an institution itself.

  • In the past, marriage also had an economic component; the family was a unit of production and couple's married based on family wishes, or through a sense of duty to family.
• CHANGES IN WOMEN'S POSITION

  • Improvements to women's economic position has made them less dependent on men, and able to more freely end a marriage.
  • With increased financial independence, women are increasingly able and likely to leave an unhappy marriage.
• CHANGES IN WOMEN'S POSITION:

  • the dual burden is contributing to divorce rates.
  • Feminists argue men's failure to take on their share of the domestic labour increases conflict between couples, and is contributing to divorce rates.