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divorce, marriage and cohabitation - Coggle Diagram
divorce, marriage and cohabitation
changing patterns in marriages
trends in marriages 1972 had the highest number of marriages in one ear with around 480000 whereas in 2009 had the lowest with only 231,000 marriages
in 2013 same sex marriage was legalised
reasons for decline in marriage - secularisation - costs - changes in attitudes
cultural differences = arranged marriages are common in many asian communities and forced marriages
EVALUATION: - new right = marriage is essential to society as it promtes morality and the traditional family type, children who come from family with unmarried parents are more likely to underachieve at school and become seriously ill - feminists argue that traditional marriages are patriarchal as women are expected to give up their careers to become a mother a decrease in marriages allows more freedom for women e.g. taking last name - marxist feminists argue that women are deceived about the positives or marriage during childhood, when in reality marriage traps women into life-long expectations of doing the homework without recognition or reward
changing patterns in cohabitation
in 2014 ONS reported that about 3 million heterosexual couples were cohabiting in the UK and 1/5 of these were serial cohabiters
trends in cohabitation - the number of people born outside of marriages has significantly increased over recent years, according to ONS in 2014 47% of all children born were born in cohabitation or to a single parent
evaluation = new right believe that the increase in cohabitation is another thing that increases moral decline and is threatening nuclear family and marriages,
Beaujouan - rise in cohabitation is probably the reason for divorce
changing patterns in divorce
trends in divorce - before 1969 divorce was complex and expensive, the divorce was only granted if marital crime was proven, spouses had to prove their partners were guilt of matrimonial offence such as adultery.
divorce rates increased after 1969 due to changes made by the divorce reform act - in 1993 165000 couples got divorced, it has steadily since then declined - this could be due to cohabitation and changes in attitudes to marriage
social causes for the increase in divorce:
Thorne and Colland: there has been an increase in divorce due to the changing expectations of family life, women develop higher expectations of marriage and are less willing to except empty shell marriages , this could be why 75% of divorces are started by women
social attitudes towards divorce changes as it was no longer regarded as shameful because of secularisation
theoretical perspectives on divorce =
new right = one of the main reasons behind the moral decline, ~Murray= the increase in divorce has led to a rise in fatherless families which do not socialise their children adequalty this created an underclass which generates cultural deprivation which is passed on through the familt
functionalism = Fletcher- divorce is positive because it suggests that people have higher expectations of marriage and if the love in a relationship has gone by breaking up and remarrying individuals may be happier and expiernce happier family life and therefore perform their roles more effectivly
feminism = increase in divorce illustrates the frustration that women have due to the exploitation in their marriages
consequences of divorce = reconsititued marriages, single parent families
evaluation of reocnsititued marriages =
Slater - there are some struggles with reconsititred marriages, studies show how tensions may arise between step parents and children or even between siblings and half siblings.
Allan - reconsisitued families are complicated and problematic, within the blended family, complexity occurs due to authority and discipline
smith - being reconstituted family isn't dissimilar to first family, e.g. th bond between a step parent and step child can be positive
evaluation of single parent families =
new right believe that single parent families cannot socialise their children adequalty and they over depend on the state, one income = state benefits
mooney suggests that being raised by a single parent provides more stability then being raised by two unhappy parents who are in conflict with one another