G672 Topic 2 studys

There is strong social pressure not to remain single because society portrays marriage as the ideal state. He says that society stresses that intimate relationships are normal and not having intimate relationships is not normal.

Interveiwed sinlge people aged 25-45 found they though being single allowed them to focus on work, allowed them open to a variety of sexual experiences and promoted overall freedom. On the other hand they found it difficult to be single where most of their friends had coupled up and suffered from isoloation and lonellyness. On the whole men found the social pressure to marrry greater than the insentives to stay single.

analysised secondary data from the british household panel to examine how the situation of people living alone changes over time. They found that only 7% remained living alone thoughout the entire period and therefore argued that.

The transitions between solo living and living with others is common place and that the boundries between solo living and family living are frequently crossed. Most young people see living alsone as a temporary phase that often ends in marriage or cohabitation.

Black women won't marry black men. As their chances of getting/ keeping a job are low and make him an unreliable source of income for themselfs and their children. It is better to remain single and claim benefits if neccisary. concequently only 1/4 of Afro carribean children have two black parents.

His contimum shows how Whites South asians and Black britons can be characterised by old fashioned values to modern individulism

Adult daughters with gay mothers were as likely to be gay or straight as hetro mothers grown children.

Gay couples see their households and family networks as chosen familys. "during the past generations being opely gay has been transformed."

link to civil partnership act. Catholic church being denied funding.

Sandwich generation.

Elderly parents become frustrated with their grown children as middle age give more time to their children than their parents as it is culturally asumed they will do so.

"People increasingly see children as restricting personal fufillment not enabelling it."

grandparents can be helpfull in negotiating intergenerational conflict they also give financial contributions to their grandchildren , childcare and giving advice.

Fertility rates are low due to women having children later in life. Decline in family life has lead to the decline in fertility. She beleived that the growth in women cohabiting rather than marrying has led to this as cohabiting women are more likely to only have one child. She points out that the birth rate and the average age of pregnancy would be even higher had it not been the rise in teen birth rates.

There is not greater diversity in peoples living arangements there is no longer a clear "family cycle" through which people must pass ie leave home, married move in, have children repeat. Instead each individual follows their own course that can include living alone, cohabitation, remarriage etc. This is because there is no longer social convention or economic need for these processes to occur and so there is increasing seperation of sex, marriage and parenthood. You can do one without involving the others.

They beleive that such is the diversity that there is no such thing as "the family" there are many different familys and family forms that are changing and developing over time. However though there is increased choice the family is not an egalatarian institution some members have far more power than others.

Demographic changes that have contributed to the increase in family diversity.

1) world wide rise in divorce

2) spf increase- partly through divorce partly through secularisation

3) cohabitation is increasingly common

4) marraige rates have declined.

5) increase in reconstituted familys

They beleive ( writting two decades after the Rapoports) the trend towards family diversity hascontinued and strengthened in the interveing period

"convergance in diversity" diversity is occuring all over europe and it is being acceptated that people create their families to fit their needs and aspirations not tradition.

SPF'S are an indicator of a decline in moral standards. He beleives spf's are at the heart of the underclass and has appered in the inner city which socialises children into crime and delinquency, anti authority, anti work and anti family life. He beleives young girls get pregnant and pass on these bad values.

Families without fathers. The rise in children without fathers is a worying development as children are invariably associated with anti social behaviour, crime, educational under acheivment much more than their peers who live in two parent households. These problems are particularaly evident in inner city area's such as brixton that have high povery rates.

However is it povety that causes the crime not the lack of male role model? spf's earn on average 43% less than nuc fams.

Negative labelling of spf's by social agencies such as the police, teahcers and social workers may result in a self fufilling prophecy. He rejects the new rights idea that inferior parenting is the problem.

"we live in an era of post modinerty characterised by choice and change free to choose how to structure our familys"

These late modinerty relationships were based on confluent love. Deep emotional intimacy in which partners reveal their deep needs and concerns to eachother. Commitment to one another lasts as long as they both receive pleasure from it. Failing to acheive this pleasure is reason enough to end the relationship.

Difference fem beleive that there is a poweful ideololgy that only supports one type of fam. tradit nuc and all others are seen as inferier. The problem is the seperation of families as "alternative" is synonomous with lesser. And when people express their concern for the "decline of the fam" they are only talking about the tradit nuc.  She wants family choice celabrated as it greatly benefits women i.e black women in america mother centred fams without men relying on friends and kin for support.

"The increase in deiversity is leading to a less judgemental soceity as people come accustomed to the change"

"you cannot turn back the click on family diversity and go back to traditional values it is not longer an option to do so"