Examine the ways in which government policies and laws may affect the nature and extent of family diversity? Over the years, government policies have been introduced which have affected the nature of several family types. These policies are mainly seen as beneficial to family life; however, sociologists such as functionalists may see it as a threat to the traditional nuclear family. One of the main families which have been affected by a number of policies is the nuclear family. One of these policies is the divorce act 1969; which has made it easier for couples to get divorced.
Being that these types of assets are From significant parts of savings, this is a logical argument. 1982 to 1989, the Dow Jones Average went from 884 to 2,509 which drastically increased capital assets’ values. There was an impressive drop in the unemployment rate during Reagan’s administration as well. 17 million new jobs were created and the unemployment rate fell from 9.7% to 5.5% by the time Reagan’s presidential term ended (Niskanen & Moore 1996). The hours worked by working aged adults grew during
People are also expecting more from marriage, and women especially are choosing to live alone due to feminist views. One reason for the growth in single hood could be the change in the law for divorce. In 1969 the Divorce Reform Act allowed people to divorce easier, as it meant they could put in place a no fault act. This meant that people didn't feel forced to stay in a marriage that made them unhappy. Furthermore, this would lead to a lot of people expecting more from relationships after getting divorced, as they wouldn't want to fall victim to what cause their last marriage to end again.
Secondly, feminism is another reason that some people believe that nuclear families are no longer the norm. Within the 1940’s women were seen simple as housewives and mother, and education within their life wasn’t even thought about. Essentially they were expected to conform to the nuclear family model. Now women are just as likely to be in paid employment like men and therefore this gives them much more status and independence, which makes the nuclear family less likely. Yet others would argue that even the media still supports nuclear families and is socializing the next generation into thinking that it is right for example ‘The Simpsons’, so despite the increase in divorce and feminism the nuclear family will remain popular in British society.
Another main reason is the simple fact people are marrying later for many reasons, more because of the change in attitudes towards education and religion (seclurisation). It doesn’t help that the countrys ecnomy is in decline and the price of weddings not only was expensive enough but they are also getting dearer to match the current cost of living. From 1838 until. Nearly a quarter of children lived with only one parent (25%) last year and nine out of ten of these households were headed by
Secularisation means the decline of the importance / influence of religion in society. Due to science becoming more influential in a modern society, religion is no longer necessarily seen as such an important contributor. As marriage is a religious concept, it might also now be seen as somewhat less significant in society and many might not perceive it to be as valuable or important as it once was. Divorce could be the result of this as the decline of the value of marriage might lead people to believe it is not long term. A third reason for changes in the divorce rate is the changes in women’s expectations surrounding marriage.
He then explained that a family to sustain their level of income would put in longer shifts would be a coping mechanism in its own. And finally, the family after they used those two coping mechanisms and yet they feel they did not yet sustained their relative income, the go into the debt! Reich believed that families when they are rushing to the credit would fuel the bubble. However, those coping mechanisms have been exhausted and they are bringing more harm to the society daily. According to some medical statistics, in 2007 the Americans spent roughly $ 23.6 billion in sleeping
It is assumed that in modern industrial societies, family life is no longer patriarchal. As the demographic trends of divorce and widowhood lead to matrifocal families, Post-modernists believe that as matrifocal families are becoming a norm in modern industrial societies. The status of men as the breadwinner and decision-maker of the family is becoming less dominant due to this dual role being taken on by single mothers. Women have also begun to live longer and often become widows as men have a lower life expectancy rate, leading to the creation of beanpole families. Furthermore, Breen and Cooke (2004) suggest the variation in the gendered division of domestic labour by identifying three types of women and three types of men.Post-modernists reject the idea that family life in modern industrial societies is still patriarchal as there are generalisations and over-exaggerations made at the extent of men's power over women in society.
Using the material from item 2B and elsewhere assess the view that the growth of family diversity has led to the decline of the traditional nuclear family in the past, traditionally families have mostly been the ‘traditional nuclear family’ made up of a married man and woman and children. However there has recently been a decline in the amount of traditional nuclear families, and an increase in diverse family types. There are now less people following the traditional view that the nuclear family is the ‘normal’ way to live. The diverse families now include families such as, lone parent families, reconstituted family, extended family, lone person households, cohabiting couples and same sex couples. New right believe that the incline in family diversity and a decline in the nuclear family is a cause of many social problems.
Each man could have more than one wife. Matrifocal families – In the Caribbean, parts of central America and the USA many households do not contain an adult male. Gonzalez (1970) found they are well adapted to living in poverty and the mothers have a lot of support from female relatives. Gay and lesbian families do not conform to this definition and civil partnerships were legalised in 2005 suggesting they are “socially approved.” Ideology and the Family New Right thinkers support narrow definitions of the family. Increasing family diversity suggests that the nuclear family is no longer the norm.