Sociology: Family and Households

• Singe parent families

  • Have tripled since 1971
  • Majority headed by women
  • 23% of children live in lone parent families compared to 7% in 1972
• Why is there more single parent families

  • Feminism
  • Secularisation
  • Divorce reform act
• Reconstituted families

  • 1 in 6 males are step-fathers
• Why is there an increase in reconstituted families

  • Increase in divorce rates
  • Divorce reform act
• Cohabitation

  • Increase from 20.6% in 2011 to 24.3% in 2021
• Why do people marry?

  • Its seen as a practical place to have children
  • Acceptable place to have sexual activity
  • Practical
• Why is there less marriage now?

  • Can be expensive
  • Increase in secularisation
  • Feminism
  • Divorce reform act
• Marriage

  • Average age is around 30
  • Couples are delaying it rather than rejecting it
• Marital breakdown

  • Increase in conflict
  • Change of values attached to marriage
• Divorce

  • 40% of marriages end in divorce- 69% sought by women
  • The UK has the highest divorce rate in the EU.
  • Decreasing from the 2000s
• Remarriage

  • Common response after divorce
  • Divorced men are more likely to remarry after a divorce
  • One third of marriages are remarriages
• Childhood

  • Childhood is seen as a social construction
  • Cultural and historical variations
  • Changes in the 19th and 20th century
  • March of progress view: children are more values, cared for, have more right and more modern medical knowledge
  • Conflict view: Inequalities and power control
• What is demography?

  The study of the population and their characteristics
• Birth rate

  • Has a long term decline since 1900- slight increase in 2001.
  • Children have on average 1.84 children
  • 3 baby booms since 1900
• Patterns in birth rates

  • 4 out of 10 children are born outside of marriage
  • Women are having children later in life
  • Women are having fewer children
• Why is there a decline in birth rate?

  • Changes in the positions of women
  • Decline in infant mortality
  • No child labour laws
  • Child centeredness
• Death rate

  • 600k per year
  • Increase during wars and pandemics
• Why is there a decline in death rate?

  • Lower infant mortality
  • Improved nutrition and medical knowledge
  • Less dangerous jobs
  • High life expectancy
• Ageing population

  • Living longer
  • Less children
• What is the darkside of the family?

  • Abuse
  • Neglect
  • Toxic households
• Trends in the darkside of the family

  • Domestic violence accounts for 1/6 of all crime- mainly by men against women
• Policies against DV

  • 1991 law on rape
  • 1971 divorce laws
  • Charities
  • Campaigns
• What is surestart?

  A charity organisation that helps people out of poverty. It is set up in deprived areas.
• Functionalist approach to the family

  • Compares society to the human body
  • Pass on norms and values that make up the social system
  • Norms and values create social order and social stability
• Marxist approach to the family

  • Highlights poverty and inequality
  • Supports capitalism- passes on ideology that supports inequality
  • Ignores family diversity
  • The rich stay rich- the poor get poorer
• Feminist theory and application to the family

  • Critical view of the family
  • Highlights the role of women and gender inequality in the family and tries to raise awareness
• Post modernism and the social action theory

  • Believes individuals are in control and shape society
  • Interested in how individuals form their own identity
  • Individualism replaces community
• what does post modernism say about family diversity?

  Society requires more choice and diversity relating to family life. There’s more choice now relating to lifestyles and personal relationships.
• What does Stacey say about family diversity?

  Women have more rights and choice
• what does Giddens say about family diversity?

  individuals have more choice and needs are met in relationships which mean that there is a better quality of relationships and which has so lead to a decrease in family breakdowns.
• What does robert chester say about family diversity?

  The only important change is women now go out to work. He has no negative new of changes in family diversity.
• What is the divorce reform act?

  It allowed divorce to be cheaper and easier to do for unhappy couples
• What do feminists say about divorce?

  Dual burden and triple shift leads to conflict between couples which then rises divorce rates.
• What do new right say about divorce?

  It undermines the traditional nuclear marriage and the nuclear family. This increases divorce rates and creates a growing underclass of welfare.
• What do functionalists say about divorce?

  high divorce rates is not a threat to marriage and is instead a result of people’s high expectations.
• What do dobash & Dobash say about DDOL?

  Marriage legitimates violence against women by giving power and authority to husbands. Domestic violence statistics suggest power is unequal in couples.
• What do wilmott & young say about DDOL?

  Housework is now more equal
• What does Gershuny 1994 say about DDOL? 


  He investigated the ‘dual burden hypothesis‘ between 1974 and 1987 and found more husbands do house work now due to the increase of paid work for women.
• What does she sharpe say about DDOL?

  in 1970 girls priories were love, marriage, children, jobs and careers. in 1990 attitudes had changed due to equal opportunity laws and feminism.
• What does Elizabeth bott say about DDOL?

  segregated conjugal roles and joint conjugal roles.