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Negative Views Of The Family : 

Negative Views Of The Family In the 1960's Edmund Leach likened the family to an 'over loaded electrical circuit waiting to blow a fuse' his main argument was that we had become too privatised and isolated in our nuclear family settings and this was causing too much pressure on relationships. He advocates breaking out from these insular units and getting in touch with our fellow human beings.

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Laing 1970 – Parents and children are linked by a complex web of emotions and tensions. These can cause a ‘breakdown’ - a sort of identity crisis for certain individuals. As a result Laing advocated treating the ‘whole’ family. Hence family therapy sessions

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Cooper 1972 Working in the same field as Laing, Cooper attacks family life for curbing the freedom of children and suppressing their individuality. As a result subservience and obedience are promoted within society. Cooper is in tune with Marxists when he says that the family is 'an ideological conditioning device in an exploitive society'

Perspectives On The Family : 

Perspectives On The Family Foucault 1975 – Critical theory Foucault maintained that agencies such as the law, social workers, welfare services, the tax system etc are controlling family life. The stereotypical nuclear family model of parents + kids is held up as the norm

Perspectives On The Family : 

Perspectives On The Family Foucault 1975 - Themes of his work:- 1. Conventional motherhood is reinforced Mothers who want to work are restricted by difficulties arranging childcare. Working for women is portrayed as not ‘normal’ Women experience guilt and stress as a result 2. Emphasis on discipline and conformity in modern society Confession of inadequacies to ‘experts’ eg doctors, counsellors, psychologists etc

Perspectives On The Family : 

Perspectives On The Family Morgan 1980 agrees with Foucault from a Marxist perspective in that the family is an institution under siege in the modern world. The supposedly private world of family life is kept in check via agencies of the state

Marriage & Marital breakdown : 

Marriage & Marital breakdown Fewer people are getting married than at any other time in the last 40 years.   However: People are delaying marriage rather than rejecting it Most people still see marriage as desirable

Marriage & Marital breakdown : 

Marriage & Marital breakdown Types Of Marital Breakdown Divorce – legal ending of a marriage freeing partners to marry again Separation – live apart Desertion – where one partner doesn’t know where the other has gone Empty –shell -where marriage exists in name only – ‘staying together for sake of children etc

Marriage & Marital breakdown : 

Marriage & Marital breakdown

Marriage & Marital breakdown : 

Marriage & Marital breakdown Explanations for increasing divorce rate Divorce laws 1969 Divorce Reform Act (became law in 1971) introduced ‘irretrievable breakdown’ as a no fault reason for divorce. After 2 years separation if both agreed 5 years if only one agreed Essentially made divorce easier to obtain!

Marriage & Marital breakdown : 

Marriage & Marital breakdown 2. Less stigma As divorce became more common it became more acceptable and part of every day life.

Marriage & Marital breakdown : 

Marriage & Marital breakdown 3. Changing role of women About 75% of petitions for divorce are made by women. Women now are :- Educated to higher levels. Work more and have independent finance. Less likely to stay in an ‘empty shell’ marriage.

Marriage & Marital breakdown : 

Marriage & Marital breakdown 4. Secularisation The decline in the religious significance of marriage Less church weddings Promises made ‘before God’ not seen as binding

Marriage & Marital breakdown : 

Marriage & Marital breakdown 5. Privatisation Of Family Life Rather than a ‘haven in a heartless world’ some see the family as the source of discontents Search for intimacy creates tensions within relationships People expect too much from each other. Less pressures from wider kin to stay together

Marriage & Marital breakdown : 

Marriage & Marital breakdown 6. The value of marriage  Functionalists like Fletcher & Parsons argue that people place a higher value on marriage now than in the past People expect more from a partner and will no longer put up with second-rate relationships  Gibson 1994 says that the modern emphasis on individual achievement and consumerism has extended to relationships

Factors likely to cause divorce : 

Factors likely to cause divorce Age Lower the age at marriage = HCD (higher chance divorce) Teens more likely to grow apart Economic pressures etc

Factors likely to cause divorce : 

Factors likely to cause divorce Class MC have lower rates than WC Highest rates among unemployed

Factors likely to cause divorce : 

Factors likely to cause divorce Social & Status Differences The greater the differences between partners - class, age, ethnicity, class, religion = HCD

Factors likely to cause divorce : 

Factors likely to cause divorce Ethnicity Divorce rates low amongst Asian groups

Factors likely to cause divorce : 

Factors likely to cause divorce Family History If your parents divorced - you have a higher chance of divorce Less opposition from parents when seeking a divorce

Consequences Of Divorce : 

Consequences Of Divorce Recent studies suggest that kids from divorced backgrounds are more likely to Get divorced themselves Underachieve at school Be unemployed Suffer poor health Become criminals

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Exeter Study 1994 - Cockett & Tripp children in ‘reordered families’ (step) suffered problems of adjustment until later in life. Children wanted to stay with both natural parents even with the tensions involved

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Norwegian Study 1994 - Moxnes Sees positive side of divorce Creation of a new ‘bi-nuclear’ family with good relations between old and new partners and children Could be seen as an over optimistic view!

Cohabitation : 

Cohabitation Coleman & Salt 1992  Suggest that the popularity of marriage has declined because traditional assumptions have changed.  New ideas, the changing role of women and more reliable methods of birth control are all contributory factors

Cohabitation : 

Cohabitation Reasons For The Increase In Cohabitation Marriage is less fashionable. Marriage is expensive. Decline in religious beliefs. Economic and employment insecurity. High divorce rates make people wary of commitment

Family Diversity : 

Family Diversity The image of the ‘cereal packet family’ (Leach) is promoted as the basic family model i.e. married adults plus kids. However others argue that a plurality of forms now exist

Family Diversity : 

Family Diversity Ron & Rhona Rapoport 1982  Give 5 types of diversity  1.      Organisational Diversity Variations in family structure e.g. single parents Reconstituted families etc

Family Diversity : 

Family Diversity 2. Cultural Diversity There are differences based on ethnic origins and religious beliefs

Family Diversity : 

Family Diversity 3. Class Diversity There are many differences between MC and WC families. Higher divorce rates among WC

Family Diversity : 

Family Diversity 4. Life-cycle Diversity Newly marrieds without children have a different life style to those with children

Family Diversity : 

Family Diversity 5. Cohort Diversity This refers to the periods at which groups of families have lived through specific things together e.g. war

Family Diversity : 

Family Diversity Eversley & Bonnerjea 1982 – Regional Diversity   They argue that different areas of Britain have different patterns of family organisation. In rural areas extended kinship is important, inner cities have higher percentages of single parents and the southern ‘sun belt’ has more 2 parent upwardly mobile families.

Family Diversity : 

Family Diversity Weekes, Donovan & Heaphey 1999 – Homosexual Families   Say that Gay and Lesbian households have become more common since the 1980’s. They describe such units as ‘chosen’ families – they choose whom to include as ‘family’ members.

Family Diversity : 

Family Diversity New Reproductive Technologies   Surrogacy provides the potential for a whole new way of forming families.

Family Diversity : 

Family Diversity Modhood et al 1997 - Ethnicity   Whites and Caribbean’s have highest rates of divorce in UK Asians and Africans have highest marriage rates and highest rates of children living with both natural parents – 90% (75% for whites, 50% Caribbean’s) Caribbean’s have highest single parent rate in UK

Family Diversity : 

Family Diversity Single Person Households   25% of households are occupied by one person and this proportion is rising. A significant number are elderly women and divorced and separated. However more people, particularly young professionals, are choosing to live alone.

Single Parents : 

Single Parents 25% of families in the UK are single parents 90% are female headed 60% are ex married (divorced, separated or widowed)

Single Parents : 

Single Parents Consequences  Murray 1993 A New Right thinker Claims single parenting has helped to create an anti-social underclass

Single Parents : 

Single Parents McIntosh 1996   Disagrees and says that Lone mothers have been used as scapegoats for problems such as youth crime and unemployment

Single Parents : 

Single Parents McLanahan & Booth 1991   Say children from single parents are more likely to suffer poverty, become delinquent and abuse drugs. But more a result of low income than lack of 2 parents

Single Parents : 

Single Parents Cashmore 1985   Best for children to live with one caring adult than 2 fighting ones. Women become more independent in single parent units

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Effects Children often find themselves pulled in 2 directions feelings of disloyalty to one parent Sometimes tensions with step parent Complications arise when the new couple have their own children Reconstituted Families

Family Diversity? : 

Family Diversity? The above evidence is taken by many to suggest that there is a plurality of family forms in the UK today. Post Modernists say that there is diversification, variation and instability.   Others argue that the diversity angle is exaggerated, most children live with their natural parents, most people do get married and while 4 in 10 marriages end in divorce 6 in 10 do not.

Family Diversity? : 

Family Diversity? Chester 1985 – The Neo- Conventional Nuclear Family  Says that changes in family life have been minor If one looks at the % of people rather than households1/2 the population of UK live in nuclear families Many who aren’t will form nuclear families in the future The only big change is that many more women now work Most people do get married Most divorcees remarry

Family Diversity? : 

Family Diversity? However since Chester’s writing there has been a slow but steady drift away from nuclear families in the UK. Nuclear families are still very common but other family types (particularly single parents and reconstituted families) are becoming more common.