ethnic differences in family patterns

• ethnic patterns - BLACK BRITISH FAMILIES

  higher proportion of lone parent families

  high rate of female headed lone parent families could be seen as family disorganisation that can be traced back to slavery or recent high unemployment rates among black males

  • child stayed with mother during slavery, argued this pattern still exists

  higher rates of poverty / unemployment mean black men are less able to be able to provide = higher rates of desertion / marital breakdown
• MIRZA and black british families


  higher % of lone parents due to high value women place on independence rather than disorganisation
• REYNOLDS and black british families


  statistics are misleading as many lone parent families are actually cohabitating
• BERTHOUD and black british families


  caribbean family life based on modern individualism - emphasis on independence with marriage seen as a lifestyle option among many others
• ethnic patterns - ASIAN BRITISH FAMILIES

  most are nuclear rather than extended

  larger family sizes result of younger age profiles = higher proportion in childbearing age

  larger households said to reflect value placed extended families

  around 75% of Pakistani / Bangladeshi women are married by 25

  low divorce rates due to strong social disapproval and wide support networks

  Sikhs, Muslims and Hindus most likely to be extended families
• BALLARD - asian british families


  extended family ties provided support among asian migration during 1950 - 1960s

  in early periods of migration, houses were shared by extended families

  • progressed to families being more nuclear with relatives living nearby
  • frequent visits and still strong support network
• BERTHOUD - asian british families


  family life based on 'old-fashioned values' including commitment to marriage, tight knit families, births within the family, arranged marriages and women as housewives / mums etc