Families

Nuclear family = heterosexual (straight) couple and dependent children (the ‘norm’ in society)

Extended family = contains relatives beyond the nuclear. Can be extended vertically (different generations, e.g. grandparents) or horizontally (same generation).

Is there a typical family in Britain?

Traditionally (before the industrial revolution) many people in Britain lived in extended families. The industrial revolution meant that people started to work in factories, and move around the country to where the factories were (geographical mobility)… this meant that the nuclear family structure gradually became more popular.

Modified extended family = related nuclear families live apart geographically but keep regular contact and mutual support.

Although the nuclear family is still the norm – family diversity is becoming increasingly important.

Family diversityrefers to the ways in which families differ from the traditional nuclear family. E.g.:

  • Gay families
  • Lone parents
  • Reconstitutedfamilies (stepfamilies)
  • Cohabitation (living togetherunmarried)

Family diversity has INCREASED in Britain over the last 30 years. Because…

  • Changing attitudes – homosexuality, divorce, living alone etc is more acceptable and less stigmatised (less shameful) nowadays
  • Changing laws – e.g. Divorce Reform Act made divorce much easier and cheaper
  • Religion is less influential (secularisation)
  • Women have more independence (due to the women’s movement and equal opportunities legislation) and so do not have to get/stay married simply for financial support

What else has affected marriage and the family?

  • Migration and cultural diversity. Eg Asian families are more likely to be extended and more patriarchal and divorce is less common. However, lone parents are more common in black communities.
  • Working patterns eg more women work and this has affected their role in the family

Roles/relationships within the family

Conjugal roles are the parts played by each partner in a marriage (or cohabiting relationship)

Segregated conjugal roles = clear, distinct and separate roles for each partner. Male breadwinner, dependent housewife who performs most of the domestic labour.

Integrated conjugal roles = more equal, shared roles. Shared decisions, shared leisure time, domestic labour is shared more equally.

Symmetrical family = refers to equal or integrated conjugal roles. They may not be exactly the same but they are shared equally.

Many people have claimed that roles have moved from integrated to segregated in Britain over recent decades. Because:

  • Women are more likely to work
  • Changing attitudes
  • Decline of the extended family and close knit communities has meant there is less pressure to conform to traditional roles
  • Increasing living standards mean the home is a more attractive place to be (TV, central heating etc). Men in particular spend more time at home nowadays and so do more domestic labour.

Feminists however disagree that roles are now ‘integrated’ – many studies show that on average women still do MUCH more housework than men!

Many families nowadays are child centred = children have a high status in the family, activities and decisions are planned around the children.

Because…

  • Families are smaller
  • People work fewer hours than in the 19th century
  • Increasing affluence (as a society we are richer)
  • Compulsory education – children are dependent on their parents (whereas they were sent to work in the 19th century)
  • Children have more legal rights (eg the Children Act makes the child’s welfare the priority in deciding custody)
  • Growing parental fears about assaults etc (due to moral panics in the media rather than any real increase)

Birth rate = the number of live births per 1,000 of the population per year

The birth rate has DECLINED in Britain.

Because…

  • Improved contraception – more reliable, more accessible, more acceptable (partly because religion is less influential)
  • Changingrole of women
  • Declining infant mortality rates (fewer children die)
  • More child-centredness (children are no longer an economic asset to their parents)
  • Changing attitudes – no longer stigmatised to remain childless
  • On average, people start having children at an older age, leaving them less time to have a large family

(The exam question may use the term ‘patterns of fertility’ – this is the same as the birth rate)

Divorce

Divorce rate = the number of divorces per 1,000 married people per year

The divorce rate has INCREASED in Britain. Because…

  • Changes to the law – egDivorce Reform Act 1969 made it easier as couples could get divorced on the grounds of ‘irretrievable breakdown’ instead of proving one partner guilty
  • Changing role of women – have more financial independence
  • People have higher expectations of marriage – reality disappoints
  • Changing attitudes – divorce is more acceptable and less stigmatised
  • Religion is less influential (secularisation)

Consequences of divorce on family structures = more lone parents, more reconstituted (step) families etc

The increased divorce rate has also lead to serial monogamy = when one person keeps marrying and divorcing a series of partners, but is only married to one person at a time.

Is the family in ‘decline’?

This is a very controversial debate that is also often in the media. Politicians and sociologists disagree amongst themselves about whether the family is ‘dying’ or is in ‘decline’.

YES the family is in decline / NO the family is not decline
40% of marriages end in divorce / Most people do NOT get divorced!
More lone parents / Lone parents are still ‘a family’. Children may well have regular contact and a strong bond with the absent parent.
Children are better off in a loving one parent family than living with two unhappy parents?
Fewer people getmarried / Cohabitation can be just as stable as marriage.
Cohabitation may just be a ‘trial marriage’ – many cohabiting couples will eventually marry.
Increasing number of births outside marriage / Most births still occur in marriage, and even if parents are not married they are usually cohabiting.
Increasing number of couples and single women choosing to remain childless / Most women will eventually have children. It’s better that people CHOOSE to have children than feeling ‘forced’ into doing it
Some politicians (the New Right) see all this as evidence that the family is dying, which they believe is a bad thing – and leads to all sorts of social problems – eg rising crime, declining moral standards, poor behaviour in schools etc! / Marriage and family life nowadays is more likely to be based on love and companionship rather than financial necessity or social pressure – surely this is a good thing for all family members?
Conclusion
Family life is certainly CHANGING (more diversity, eg more cohabitation, more homosexuality, more lone parents etc). Whether or not ‘the family’ is in ‘decline’ depends on how we define ‘family’ (eg lone parents are still a family!). It is also a matter of opinion (rather than fact) whether these changes are positive or negative.

Sociological approaches to the family

Functionalist

  • Positive view of the family
  • Nulcear family is the norm in modern society
  • Family performs useful functions for both society as a whole and individual family members:
  • Socialisation – family teaches norms and values to children
  • Social control – rules, rewards and punishments etc control children and women
  • Warm bath theory
  • Family is a key institution in society. Performs number of essential functions for individuals & society.
  • Believes nuclear family is one that works best
  • Primary socialisation – learn norms & values, become familiar with culture & way of life we are born into. Learn how to fit and conform to rules. Family acts as agency of social control.
  • Emotional support and nurture
  • Economic provision
  • Reproduction Remember P.E.E.R!

Criticisms:

Dated view of family life (theories are from the 1940s) Arguments are based on nuclear families – ignores family diversity Ignores the dark side of family life

Feminist

  • Critical view of family
  • Families are patriarchal – males have the power
  • Familiesoppress and exploitwomen
  • Domestic division of labour is unfair (women do most of the housework)
  • ‘Dark side’ = many women suffer domestic violence

Criticisms

Dated (theories from the 1970s) – society has changed, e.g. more women work and this has given them more power in the family Fails to see the positive side of family life Deterministic – assumes ALL women are victims, yet many women CHOOSE to be housewives

Marxist approach to the family

Critical of the family

Set up of nuclear family allows social inequalities to pass from one generation to the next. (Rich can pass on huge amounts of money & property)

  • Educational advantages passed through families
  • Through socialisation, working class people accept their lower position in an unequal society.

New Right approach to the family

  • More recent approach to functionalist approach
  • Believes nuclear family is one that works best
  • Believes family values are important:
  • - normal family type consists of married couple bringing up own children
  • - family members have a duty to provide and care for each other
  • - women should be the carer and men the breadwinner
  • - tend to oppose gay and lesbian rights.

How might an individual’s family change over the course of their life?

  • Born: may live with parents & siblings – nuclear family
  • Parents may separate – lone parent family
  • Mum remarries – reconstituted family
  • University – live in a shared house

Important turning points:

  • Birth of a child, marriage, separation, divorce, remarriage.

Role of fathers

  • Has changed within families
  • Play greater role in lives of their children than in the past
  • But…some mothers don’t want their traditional roles as mothers being eroded.

How have relationships between parents and children changed over time?

  • Less authoritarian
  • Less emphasis on discipline, obedience & parental authority over children.
  • More emphasis on individual freedom
  • Children regarded as important members of family/listened to/opinions sought & taken seriously
  • Recognised that children have rights

Changes in relationships with members of their wider families

  • Increased geographical mobility may mean that families see each other less often. Support – telephone calls, visits, gifts, etc
  • Grandparents often care for children so that women can return to work
  • Older grandchildren sometimes involved in caring for their grandparents
  • Adult children often involved in caring for their parents
  • Fathers often provide practical support for their adult children
  • Middle aged parents may offer financial support to their adult children, for example, when buying a house

What are the changing patterns of marriage?

  • Decline in marriage rate
  • Civil partnerships
  • People getting married at a later age – linked to increased educational and employment opportunities, particularly for women. Also changing attitudes towards pre-marital sex.
  • Increase in cohabitation
  • Increase in births outside marriage
  • Fewer people married in churches

Why are there more divorces now than there were 50 years ago?

  • Cheaper
  • Easier legally
  • Quicker – can divorce after one year rather than three
  • Legal aid facilities became available
  • Fewer people getting married in church/fewer people taking sacred vows in church – secularisation
  • Women becoming more financially independent/more employment opportunities for women/less economically dependant on their husbands
  • People expect too much from marriage because of media, etc.
  • More socially acceptable – Royal family/celebrities getting divorced.

The consequence of divorce for family members and structures.

  • More remarriages (divorced men more likely to remarry than divorced women)
  • More cohabiting relationships.
  • An increase in lone parent families or shared parent families. Lone parent families at risk of poverty.
  • An increase in the number of reconstituted families.(different expectations of behaviour/more people to provide love & support)
  • Children living with one parent but keeping in regular contact with the other.
  • It is common for children to lose daily contact with their fathers.
  • Children adjusting to a new set of relationships especially in a reconstituted family.

Describe how governments have attempted to help families in recent years and explain how successful this policy has been.

  • Child tax credits – attempt to tackle child poverty.

- help parents & guardians with cost of child care.

  • Sure start – “aims to deliver the best start in life for children and to achieve better outcomes for children, parents and community by…

-increasing the availability of childcare for all children

-improving health and emotional development for young children

-supporting parents as parents and in their aspiration towards employment.”

Some activities Sure Start centres run – breastfeeding help, domestic violence help, play groups, ICT classes, ESOL classes, teenage parent groups.

An ageing population

  • Declining fertility rates & longer life expectancy mean an increasing proportion of older people,
  • Growing financial burden on working population to meet demand from older people for facilities such as social services, medical services and hospitals.
  • May be insufficient money to fund state pensions unless changes (increase taxes/raise retirement age) are made.
  • Retirement may mean loss of income, reduced standard of living& risk of poverty.
  • Increase in families of three or more generations. Beanpole families.
  • Women in the family may have burden of caring for other members of family (beanpole families)

Describe one social or economic need of the elderly in our society and explain how governments might try to meet that need.

  • Increased financial benefits
  • Improved social services

Cultural diversity & migration as influences on marriage and the family in Britain.

  • Lone parent households with dependent children are increasing in some groups such as Pakistani & white households.
  • Lone parent households with dependent children are decreasing in some groups such as black Caribbean households.
  • Bangladeshi and Pakistani households, on average, contain more people than households from other ethnic backgrounds
  • White Irish households were the smallest

Changes in the patterns of fertility

  • Fertility – average number of children that women of childbearing age have in a society.
  • Falling fertility, smaller family size and having children later.
  • Women born in the UK are having fewer children than 30 years ago & trend towards smaller family size.
  • Women having children at a later age.
  • Changing attitudes towards family sizes:
  • – In the 19th century people had more children for economic reasons, children went out to work. Laws were introduced to prevent this. Today, bringing up children is expensive.
  • - People get married at a later are- have children at a later age.
  • - Women no longer feel that a women’s role should be mainly childcare & motherhood. Increased opportunities for women in employment and education backed by laws on equal pay and sexual discrimination.
  • - Increased availability and use of contraception and legal abortion.

Changing patterns of life expectancy

  • Life expectancy is the average number of years a new born baby may be expected to live.
  • People are, on average, live longer.
  • Why – welfare state provisions. Access to damp free housing through local authority, free health care through NHS & state benefit payments when in financial need.
  • Why – developments in public health & medicine. Clean water supplies, sewerage and drainage systems and refuse disposal means that fewer people died in waterborne diseases. Vaccinations. National screening programmes for breast cancer and cervical cancer. Advances in medicine and surgery.
  • Why - improvements in diet and nutrition. Taking more notice of messages, i.e., 5 a day.

Arranged marriage & forced marriage.

  • In arranged marriages, the partners consent to the marriage. Both partners are free to reject or accept.
  • Arranged marriage is a marriage between two families not just two individuals.
  • Newest generation of Asians have reinvented the whole concept of arranged marriages: they find a partner first & then get the family to arrange the marriage.
  • Asian speed dating –the whole family is invited.
  • In forced marriages, either one or both of the partners do not consent to the marriage and some degree of force is involved.
  • All major faiths condemn forced marriages.

Preservation of religious or cultural traditions sometimes given by parents who force their children into marriage

Family 4 & 5 mark questions

4 markers

Explain what sociologists mean by cohabitation. (4 marks) Explain what sociologists mean by primary socialisation. (4 marks) Explain what sociologists mean by authority relationships in families. (4 marks) Explain what sociologists mean by a reconstituted family. (4 marks) Explain what sociologists mean by a traditional nuclear family. (4 Marks) Explain what sociologists mean by an extended family. (4 marks)

5 markers

Describe one way in which gender roles in the family have changed in the past 50 years and explain why this change has happened. (5 marks)

Describe one family type which is more commonly found in Britain today than in the 1970s and explain why this change has happened. (5 marks)

Describe one family type found in Britain and explain how it is different from any one other family type. (5 marks)

Describe how the pattern of divorce has changed in Britain over the last 50 years and explain why this pattern has occurred. (5 marks)

Describe one way in which relations between parents and children have changed in the last 30 years or so and explain why this change has happened. (5 marks)