Family diversity

• What is the stereotype of the cereal packet family?

  A happy family with a male breadwinner
• What percentage of households today fits the cereal packet family stereotype?

  About 5%
• What do the patterns of family types in recent decades suggest?

  Families are becoming more diverse
• What was the peak period for the conventional nuclear family?

  1950s and 1960s
• What do 'March of progress' theories argue about family types?

  There has always been a dominant family type
• Who argues that the nuclear family fits modern society?

  Parsons
• What does Parsons believe the nuclear family provides for society?

  A mobile workforce and social stability
• How do functionalists view other family structures?

  As dysfunctional and deviant
• What is the New Right's stance on family diversity?

  They oppose it
• What do the New Right believe about the nuclear family?

  It is the only correct family type
• What do the New Right blame for social problems?

  Diverse family structures, especially single-parent families
• What did Harry Benson find about cohabiting couples?

  Higher relationship breakdown rates than married couples
• How do conservative governments use Benson's findings?

  To support the stability of marriage
• What did Robert Chester argue about family statistics?

  They can be misleading
• What did Chester find about household statistics in the UK in 2010?

  Different measures give different impressions
• What does Chester argue about life cycles and family membership?

  Some people will not always be in a nuclear family
• What does Julia Brannen argue about the dominant family type in Britain?

  The beanpole family is dominant today
• What are intergenerational links in families?

  Links between different generations
• What role do grandparents play in contemporary families according to Brannen?

  Providing childcare and financial help
• What does Brannen say about intragenerational links?

  They are weaker than intergenerational links
• What do R and R Rapoport claim about family diversity?

  It is now the norm due to globalization
• What acronym do Rapoport and Rapoport use to describe family diversity?

  CLOGS
• What does Elizabeth Beck-Gernsheim argue about family roles?

  They are becoming more unclear
• How has the concept of parenthood changed according to Beck-Gernsheim?

  Involves sperm donors and surrogate mothers
• What has caused the increase in divorce rates?

  Greater individualization in society
• What does Anthony Giddens describe as a 'pure relationship'?

  A relationship meeting each partner's needs
• What does Giddens say about couples today?

  They define their relationships themselves
• What does Ulrich Beck mean by 'risk society'?

  People have more choice and awareness of risks
• What does Judith Stacey argue about women's roles in families?

  Women are main agents of change
• What did Stacey find in her interviews with women?

  Many rejected traditional roles
• What do personal life perspectives criticize about individualistic theories?

  They exaggerate the choice in relationships
• What is Carol Smart's 'Connectedness Thesis'?

  Choices are made within social networks
• How does Smart's thesis differ from individualistic theories?

  It emphasizes social connections in choices
• What has caused the increase in LGBTI households?

  Changes in laws and attitudes
• When were civil partnerships introduced in the UK?

  2005
• What do Weeks et al. argue about gay and lesbian households?

  They view friendship networks as chosen families
• What does Sasha Roseneil say about chosen families?

  They indicate the breakdown of the 'heteronorm'
• What was significant about the birth of Louise Brown?

  She was the first 'test-tube baby'
• How has new reproductive technology changed family and kinship?

  It has reduced biological constraints on families
• What trend has been observed in lone-parent families from 1979 to 2016?

  Increased from 7% to 22%