Families - GCSE Sociology AQA

• Studying families can be difficult as it can be hard to separate facts about families from our own experiences and beliefs about them
• Examples of people's beliefs about families, family life and parenting

  • There is nothing wrong with a woman who lives on her own choosing to have a baby
  • It is OK for gay men or lesbian women to adopt children
  • Mothers with children under the age of 11 should not work in full-time, paid employment
  • Marriage is still the best form of relationship for partnering and parenting
  • Family members should take more responsibility for the care of elderly relatives
• These issues can arouse strong feelings because they involve judgments not only about how we live but also about how other people think we should live
• Through their research, sociologists aim to inform these debates
• The term 'family' can mean different things to different people
• When sociologists study the family, there is a need for greater precision in the use of terms
• Family


  A group consisting of a married couple and their dependent children who all live together
• This definition of family is too narrow and does not include all the different types of family in the UK today
• It is difficult to come up with a definition of family that captures the increasing family diversity in the UK today
• Family (broad definition)


  A couple whose relationship is based on marriage, civil partnership or cohabitation, with or without dependent children, or a lone parent and their child or children
• Some sociologists prefer to use the term 'families' rather than 'the family' to recognise the range of family types, relationships and household arrangements in the UK today
• Examples of family types in the UK

  • Nuclear families
  • Same-sex families
  • Extended families
  • Lone-parent families
  • Reconstituted families
• Nuclear family


  A father, mother and their dependent child or children who all live together in the same household
• Same-sex family


  A gay or lesbian couple living together with their child or children
• Extended family


  Includes relatives beyond the nuclear family, either vertically (multiple generations) or horizontally (additional relatives)
• Beanpole family


  A family with multiple generations of older people and few children in any one generation
• Lone-parent family


  One parent and a dependent child or children living together, the majority headed by women
• Reconstituted/blended/step-family


  One or both partners have a child or children from a previous relationship living with them
• Household


  Either one person living alone or a group of people living at the same address and sharing at least one meal a day or facilities
• Family household


  A household in which family members live together in the same home
• The number of one-person households in the UK has increased significantly over the last 30 years
• Reasons for the increase in one-person households

  • Longer life expectancy leading to more elderly one-person households
  • Increase in solo living among younger people
  • Divorced or separated individuals living alone
  • International migrants, including students, living alone
  • People living alone before marrying or cohabiting
  • People choosing to live apart from their partner
• However, the growth in one-person households is also linked to the increase in solo living among younger people. These households may consist of people who: remain single and childless throughout their lives, are divorced, are international migrants, including students, who have moved to Britain from abroad, live alone before marrying or cohabiting, choose to live apart from their partner.
• Are friends becoming the new family?

  Families are less central in our lives and are increasingly being replaced by friends. Friends rather than family may provide emotional support and nurture.
• In their research, Sasha Roseneil and Shelley Budgeon (2006) found that, among people who did not live with a partner, friends more than biological kin offered support to those who suffered mental health problems or emotional distress. Friends more than kin also picked up the pieces when love relationships came to an end.
• However, not everyone agrees that friends are replacing families.


  Some researchers argue that many people turn first to their family members rather than to friends when they need help or support with a problem.
• At some stage in our lives, most of us live as part of a family unit
• It may be that friends are becoming more like family, rather than replacing them, and family members are becoming more like friends.
• It can be difficult to separate the facts about families from our own experiences of them and our beliefs about them
• In March 2015, local authorities looked after 69 540 children in England. Of these, around 60 per cent were looked after due to neglect or abuse.
• Examples of people's beliefs about families, family life and parenting

  • There is nothing wrong with a woman who lives on her own choosing to have a baby
  • It is OK for gay men or lesbian women to adopt children
  • Mothers with children under the age of 11 should not work in full-time, paid employment
  • Marriage is still the best form of relationship for partnering and parenting
  • Family members should take more responsibility for the care of elderly relatives
• Around 75 per cent of looked-after children are placed with foster carers, who provide them with a home on a short-term or long-term basis. Many other looked-after children are placed in children's homes or secure units.
• Children's homes provide children and young people with accommodation and care. Some homes specialise in looking after children with behavioural or emotional difficulties or who are dependent on drugs or alcohol.
• These issues can arouse strong feelings because they involve judgments not only about how we live but also about how other people think we should live
• Secure units are homes that accommodate children who have committed an offence, and these homes can restrict children's liberty or freedom.
• These issues are hotly debated by politicians and the media
• In 2011, 3.2 per cent of people aged 65 and over lived in care homes in England and Wales.
• Through their research, sociologists aim to inform these debates
• Alternatives to families in the UK today include one-person households, children's homes and residential care homes.
• The term 'family' can mean different things to different people