Topic 5: changing family patterns

Created by

amariah

Cards (36)

The patterns of divorce 
Since the 1960’s there has been a great increase in the number of divorces in the UK. 40% of all marriages will end in divorce.
65% of applications for divorce come from women.
The most common reason for a woman to be granted for a divorce is the unreasonable behaviour of her husband.
Couples who are young, cohabit before marriage or have children before marriage are more likely to divorce.
Reasons for increase in divorce - laws
Changes in law - divorce rates have risen with each change in the law.
divorce was difficult in the 19th century, Britain gradually made it easier.
Equalising the grounds (legal reasons) between the sexes.
Divorce reform act: widening the grounds for divorce to ’irretrievable breakdown’.
Legal aid and advice act: making divorce cheaper
Reasons for increase on divorce - stigma
Mitchell and Goody 1997 - there has been a decline in stigma attached to divorce.
Divorce now being more common begins to ‘normalise it’.
Reasons for the increase in divorce - alternatives to divorce
Desertion - one partner leaves but couple is still legally married.
Legal seperation - the court seperates the financial and legal affairs of the couple but they remain married and cant remarry.
Empty shell marriage - couple live under the same roof and remain married in name only. A loveless marriage.
Reasons for divorce- secularisation
Secularisation - the decline in the influence of religion in society.
Society is becoming more secular e.g. Church attendance continues to decline.
People are less likely to be influenced by religion when considering divorce.
Rising expects of marriage
Fletcher - argues that people divorce due to the higher expectations people place on marriage.
Individualisation leads to rising expectations of marriage - when the marriage doesn’t live up to expectations, divorce is more likely.
The medias emphasis on ‘romantic love’ encourages couples to have high expectations of marriage. If not met, divorce is more likely.
How have families with children changed? - LPFs 
Lone parent families now make up 22% of families with children - 1 in 4 children live in a lpf.
90% of these families are headed by women. A child from a lpf is twice as likely to be in poverty in comparison to a child with two parents.
Reasons for changes - childbearing  
Increase in births outside of marriage - a decline in stigma and increase in cohabitation. Only 28% of 25-34 year olds now think that marriage should come before parenthood.
Reasons for changes - childbearing (Harper) 
Later ages at which women are having children, smaller family sizes and the fact that women are remaining childless all reflect the fact that women now have more options than motherhood. Many are seeking to establish themselves in a career before starting a family (Harper)
Reasons for patterns - LPFS 
Number has risen due to increase in divorce and separation & more recently due to increase in number of never married women having children.
Linked to decline in stigma attatched to births outside marriage.
Female headed: women are by ‘natured’ to expressive role, men may be less willing to give up work
Reasons for patterns - LPFs: Renvoize 
Renvoize found that women were able to support their children without a father
Reasons for patterns - stepfamilies 
Divorce and seperation may cause increase in LPFs and also stepfamilies.
Step parents - greater risk of poverty - often more children.
More children in stepfamilies are from the womans previous relationship than the mans - when marriages/cohabitations break up, children are more likely to remain with their mother.
Women’s increased financial independence  
Women increasingly seek divorce because of the improvement in their economic position.
Women today are much more likely to be in paid work.
Equal pay and anti-discrimination laws have helped narrow the pay gap.
Girls greater success in education now helps them achieve better jobs.
Welfare benefits mean women no longer have to remain financially dependent on husbands.
Women are more likely to be able to support themselves in the event of a divorce.
Explanation for the increase in divorce - feminist explanations. 
Marriage remains patriarchal, men benefitting from women's triple shift work.
Women feel home compares unfavourably with work as they feel valued at work but not at home which makes marriage less stable.
Dual burden - women take on paid work as well as DDL which creates a new conflict/tension between the husband and wife = higher divorce rates compared to before when women were not in employment.
Reasons for increase in divorce - modernity and individualisation: Beck and Giddens (1992)
Beck and Giddens argue that in modern society - traditional norms such as the duty to remain with the same partner for life has lost their hold on individuals. This results in individuals becoming free to pursue his or her own self interest - known as the individualisation thesis.
Relationships therefore become more fragile - they see what Giddens calls the ‘pure relationship’.
The rising divorce rate normalises divorce and strengthens the belief marriage exists only to provide personal fulfilment.
Giddens - the pure relationship 
A relationship that exists solely to satisfy each partners needs and not out of a sense of duty, tradition or for the sake of children. This results in higher divorce rates.
What does Afifi say is the impact of divorce on children 
It stops children from getting a ruined image of love - e.g. if both parents are cheating, it can make them feel conflicted.
They will feel upset and unable to talk about it - conflicted, low self esteem, anxiety etc.
Children are much more likely to get a divorce themselves.
Ethnic differences in family patterns - asian or asian British families
84% are married
2% are cohabitating couples
14% are lone parents
Ethnic differences in family patterns - black/african/caribbean/black british
47% are married
10% are cohabiting couples
43% are lone parents
Ethnic differences in family couples - white
58% are married
18% are cohabiting couples
24% are lone parents
Ethnic differences in family patterns - other ethnic groups
75% are married
6% are cohabiting couples
19% are lone parents
Black patterns - differences in family patterns
Black/African people have a higher proportion of lone parent households compared to other ethnic groups.
Black patterns - reasons for differences in family patterns 
Mirza (1997) - trend reflects high value black women place on independence.
This trend may be as a result of disorganisation that can be traced back to slavery or high rates of unemployment among black males. During slavery, couples were sold seperately and children stayed with the mother - this established a pattern that persisted today. Reynolds (2010) statistics are misleading - lone parents can be in stable and supportive but cohabitating relationships
Asian families - differences in patterns
Bangladeshi, Pakistani and Indian households tend to be larger than other ethnic households.
Some households sometimes contain three generations, but most are nuclear.
Reasons
Larger households reflect the value placed on the extended families in Asian cultures.
Roger and Ballard (1982) extended families provide support especially among Asian migrants during the 1950’s and 60’s.
Asian families - differences in patterns continued
More likely to be married and not in lone parent households.
Reasons:
culture and religion remains a strong influence despite immigration into a new country.
Socialisation which reinforces traditional culture/stigmatises divorce or cohabitation.
Charles
Studied extended families in Swansea
Found out that the three generation family living together under one roof ‘all but extinct’. The only significant exceptions were found among the city’s Bangladeshi community.
Talcott Parsons - the extended family today 
Studied the extended and nuclear family.
Found out that the extended family is the dominant family type in pre-industrial society, but in modern industrial society it is replaced by the nuclear family. Easier for geographical benefits
Willmott -the extended family today 
Studied the extended family and found out it continues to exist as a ‘dispersed extended family’, where relatives are geographically seperated but maintain contact through visits and phone calls.
Chamberlain - the extended family today  
Studied Caribbean families in Britain.
Found out that despite being geographically dispersed, they continue to provide support. She describes them as ‘multiple nuclear families‘ with close and frequent contact between siblings, uncles, aunts and cousins who often make a contrib to childbearing.
Bell - The extended family today 
Studied WC and MC families in Swansea.
Found that both WC and MC families, had emotional bonds with kin and relied on them for support. Found that among the MC, there was more financial help from father to son. WC families had more frequent contact (they lived closer) + there was more domestic help from mothers to daughters
Globalisation
The idea that the world is becoming increasingly interconnected and barriers are disappearing e.g. instantaneous communication systems, trade
What are assimilation policies
An approach to immigration policy that believes immigrants should adopt the language, values and customs of the community/country they settle in.
How have families with children changed? - childbearing
47% of children are being born outside of marriage, double the amount there was in 1986.
How have families with children changed - stepfamilies
Stepfamilies account for over 10% of all families with children.
In 85% of stepfamilies, at least one child is from the womans previous relationship.
In 11% there is at least one child from the mans previous relationship
A03 of modernity and individualisation
Some sociologists argue that modernity encourages people to adopt a neoliberal, consumerist identity based on the idea of freedom to follow ones self interest
Mason - the extended family today 
Found that over 90% of people had given or received financial help, and about half had cared for a sick relative.
Finch and Mason found that more is expected of women than men.
Daughters are more likely than sons to take responsibility of their elderly relatives, but not all daughters in a family play an equal part. Mason found that much depends on the history of their relationship, obligations they feel towards their relatives and other responsibilities they have that would give them ‘legitimate excuses’ not to help