Family Trends

?
View mindmap
  • Family Trends
    • Marriage
      • marriage rates at lowest since 1920's
      • remarriage is rising - serial monogamy
      • people getting married older
      • 1971-2005 average age of marriage increased by 7 years
      • 60% in 1981 of church marriages and 35% in 2005
      • REASONS: larger number of SPFS, higher number of extended families
    • Divorce
      • Causes- Changes in the law and changes in society
        • Consequences - Family diversity: cohab relationship[s / same sex relationships / single person households
        • Decline in stagma, is becoming more acceptable within society
        • Easier access for women - making divorce cheaper
        • widening the grounds for divorce - no longer have to be in a marriage beyond repair
      • Number of divorces rose from 27,000 in 1961 to around 171,000 by 1999.
      • SAME SEX MARRIAGE LEGALIZED 2014
      • Decline of religious influence within society
      • 3 ways of measuring: total petitions, total decrees absolute, divorce rate (number of divorces per thousand of the married population)
      • CIVIL PARTNERSHIP ACT 2004
    • Cohabitation
      • the number of opposite sex couples living together with or without children has increased from 2.2 million in 2003 to 2.9 million in 2013
    • Single parent families
      • In 2013 there were nearly 1.9 million lone parents with dependent children in the UK who were women
      • increase in never married mothers: this accounts for 40% of lone parents average age is 35
      • WHY ARE SPFS USUALLY HEADED BY WOMEN?
        • in divorce women are more likely to get custody
        • men are reluctant to give up well paying jobs
        • women are more nurturing and expect parenthood
        • men may feel that caring for a child threatens their masculinity
        • it is more socially acceptable for a woman to care for a child than a man

Comments

No comments have yet been made

Similar Sociology resources:

See all Sociology resources »See all Families and households resources »