Ethnic differences in family patterns

• overview

  • immigration into Britain since the 1950s has helped to create greater ethnic diversity
  • analysis of the 2011 Census shows that 86% of the UK population were white
  • of the 14% belonging to an ethnic minority the main groups were Asian and Asian British (7.5%), Black and Black British (3.3%) and mixed (2.2%)
  • greater ethnic diversity has contributed to changing family patterns in the UK
• black families

  • Back Caribbean (BC) and Black African (BA) people have a higher proportion of lone parent households
  • in 2012 just over half the families with dependent children headed by a black person were lone-parent families
  • this compared with only 1 in 9 Asian families and just under a quarter of the population as a whole
  • the high rate of female headed lone parent black families has sometimes been seen as evidence of family disorganisation that can be traced back to slavery or high rate of unemployment among black males
  • under slavery when couples were sold separately children stayed with the mother therefore creating the pattern seen in todays world
  • black male unemployment and poverty made then unable to provide for their family resulting in higher rates of desertion or marital breakdown
• black families research

  • Mirza 1997 argues that the higher rate of lone-parent families among blacks is not the result of disorganisation but rather reflects the high value that black women place on independence
  • Reynolds 2010 argues that the statistics are misleading and that many lone parents are in fact stable, supportive but non-cohabitating relationships
• Asian families

  • Bangladeshi, Pakistani and Indian households tend to be larger than those of other ethnic groups
  • such households sometimes contain 3 generations but most are in fact nuclear rather than extended
  • larger household sizes are partly the reason of the younger age profile of British Asians since a higher proportion are in childbearing age groups compared with the population as a whole
  • larger Asian households also to some extent reflect the value placed on the extended family in Asian cultures, as well as practical considerations such as the need for assistance when migrating to Britain
  • Ballard 1982 found that the extended family ties that provided an important source of support among Asian migrants during the 1950s and 1960s
  • most asian households were now nuclear and relatives often lived close
  • Sikhs, Muslins and Hindus are still more likely than any other ethnic group or religious group to live in extended family units