Family

• Family - a group of two or more people linked by birth, marriage, adoption, cohabitation or legal connections, based on a long term relationship
• Household - comprises either one person who lives alone or a group of people who live in the same dwelling and share at least one meal a day, bills or facilities such as a living room. Such as people living at university or in the campus.
• Nuclear family - a two-generational family containing a heterosexual married or cohabiting couple and their dependent child or children who live together
• Lone parent family - a family in which one parent lives with their dependent child or children
• Reconstituted (blended) family - a family in which one or both partners have a child or children from a previous relationship (step-family)
• Extended family - a group of relatives extending beyond the nuclear family

  • Horizontal: many members of a similar generation
  • Vertical: members covering lots of generations
  • Beanpole: many generations, but not many members per generation
• Same sex family - a family in which a couple of the same sex (married, civil partners or cohabiting) live together with their child or children
• Empty nest family - where the children in the family have grown up and left the family home
• Family diversity - the many different family structures that exist in Britain today. This simply mean that there are lots of different family types existing in one society.
• Reasons for family diversity - Legal changes:

  • This contributed to more changes in the organisation of family life
  • The Marriage Act 2013 allowed same-sex couples to get married in England and Wales
  • Between 2014 and 2015, 15098 same-sex couples had legally married
• Reasons for family diversity - Legal changes:

  • The Divorce Act 1969 made it easier for couples to divorce and as a result the divorce rates significantly rose
  • Between 1969 and 1972 the divorce rate had doubled
  • Today 42% of marriages end in divorce, this has contributed to the increase in the number of lone parent families
  • The Equal Pay Act 1970 meant that men and women doing the same job would be paid the same amount
• Reasons for family diversity - Change in social values and attitudes:

  • Now more people choose to live alone, which has less stigma attached to it as previously living alone gave a negative status to women as it signified a failure in finding a partner
  • It is more acceptable to cohabit today and more people choose to cohabit rather than marry
  • There is less stigma attached to same-sex couple relationships
• Reasons for family diversity - Change in social values and attitudes:

  • The 20th century had big changes in priorities of people and their expectations of relationships
  • People decided to marry later and didn't consider creating a family as the most important thing in their life
• Reasons for family diversity - Changing gender roles:

  • More women work which means that they are no longer dependent on men for their financial security
  • Women are now more focussed on building a career before settling down and women now make up 47% of the workforce
  • This explains the increase in single-person households and by women working it explains as to why the number of women who never married or chose to have babies on their own has increased
  • This only accounts for a small amount of lone parent households and the numbers are increasing
• Reasons for family diversity - Benefits for lone parents:

  • The UK government provides benefits for lone parents to support them
  • Previously women would stay with their husband because men were the financial support of the family and the women had no way of supporting themselves
• Reasons for family diversity - Employment opportunities:

  • There are more employment opportunities for women today
  • Women can choose not to marry at a young age and focus on their career instead
  • Women who do not marry have more control over their fertility
• Reasons for family diversity - Longer life expectancy:

  • Life expectancy has significantly increased in the UK
  • -1900 males were 47 and females were 50
  • -2015 males were 75 and females were 83
  • The increase in life expectancy means that today when couples get married they are likely to spend a lot of their life with one person
  • Over time the couples' interests and attitudes can change, if a couple gets a divorce, there are still many years left to form a new relationship
• Reasons for family diversity - Decline in religion:

  • William Goode argued that secularisation has resulted in marriage becoming less of a sacred, spiritual union and more of a personal and practical commitment
  • Less couples are married in a religious ceremony today and marriage is less likely to be seen as a spiritual union
  • Fewer than 1 in 3 weddings are celebrated in a church in 2015 compared to more than half in the 1980s
• Reasons for family diversity - Immigration:

  • Immigration from other parts of the world has led to an increase in different family types
  • Families immigrating to Britain from south Asia often brings with them the traditional family structure of their country of origin
  • The 2011 census showed the population of England and Wales comprising 86% white and 14% ethnic minorities
  • This has led to an increase in extended families among these communities in Britain
• Robert Chester recognises that there has been some increased family diversity in recent years however they still think the nuclear family is the main type of family - the main difference is that now you have dual earning couples
• Cereal packet family - socially constructed model of how families should be. Nuclear with traditional roles. (Idea by Leach). An example of roles would be that the mother does the housework.
• Family life cycle - the types of families and households an individual is likely to experience in their life. Each person will have a different life cycle, but most will spend time during our lives in a traditional nuclear family.
• Robert Chester argues that for most people the nuclear family is still the typical family type. Most people will live in a nuclear family at some point. Although many people may live alone, most will marry at some point.
• Social construct of childhood - childhood is decided/built by society. It is not fixed and can be changed because of this
• Child centred family - everything the family does is for the child/children. The family revolves around the child. It is more democratic as the child/children have more of a say
• Factors affecting the relationship between parents and children:

  • Technology in the home - this can have lots of different effects. It could cause conflict, it could entertain, it can bring other influences into the home, and it can be dangerous
  • A consumer market aimed just at children - this can put pressure on the parents as the children will want things and the parents to like them which could put strain on them
• Factors affecting the relationship between parents and children:

  • Compulsory schooling - it was no longer the parents role to educate
  • Welfare support for children and a Minister of education - children have an increased status and they are important enough to have people work for them as someone has the job to support children. Parents and children now have a similar status and we see children as really important
• Factors affecting the relationship between parents and children:

  • Legal rights for children - child protection. The children have to go to school, cannot be hit etc. This means that children are protected and important
  • Shorter working weeks for parents - to allow parents to spend more time with their children
  • Smaller families - family members grow closer as they have more time to spend time together and they can spend time 1 to 1.
• Childhood could be considered as toxic because children are now spending less quality time with their family and they are exposed to a lot more things because of the internet which can make it difficult for the parents to socialise their children well.
• Functions of the pre-industrial family - family based economy - all family members work as a productive unit. The family performs functions such as health care, education and welfare. Production of food, shelter and clothing. They are self-sufficient
• Size of the pre-industrial family - generally large families, lots of family members
• Family roles in pre-industrial families - the extended family produce food shelter and clothing to trade with other families for things that they cannot produce themselves. Women did the housework and cared for the children. Men earned money and did manual labour. The children were educated at home.
• Functions of the industrial family - earn money, emotional support, provide food, shelter etc
• Size of the industrial family - smaller families
• Family roles in the industrial family - women and children were excluded from employment so the men were more empowered because they depended on the men to be the breadwinner. Women stayed at home and were responsible for socialising the children. There were gender specific roles. The children were vulnerable and needed protection.
• Functions of the modern family - self-sufficient, more isolated from other family members. They are a unit of consumption
• Size of the modern family - depends on the family
• Family roles in the modern family - roles are changing to become more equal. The children are spending more time with their parents. The children are more involved. Both parents go to work.
• Domestic labour refers to unpaid housework and childcare. Traditionally this role has been fulfilled by women while the men have traditionally taken on the role of breadwinner.
• Conjugal relationships - the relationship that is between marriage and partners