Family Types
Family trends have evolved in a post-modern world
Separation and divorces has increased due to the Divorce Reform Act
Rates of opposite sex couple marrying has fallen because there is now less pressure to get married,
this has negatively impacted the wedding industry and caused a decline in birth rates
Cohabitation is the fastest growing family type in the UK due to lots of divorces in the media,
expensive marriage and divorce
Fall in birth rates and women are having children later, which has been impacted by the Equal Pay
Act
The BEST FIT THEORY looks at how family types change over time due to society’s needs
1790 Pre Industrial Society – Extended family with children as an economic asset in an agricultural society
1790 – 1900 Industrial Society – Nuclear family to move with men for work in a capitalist society
Post–Industrial Society – No one family type as we have moved away from manual work there is
increased family diversity
FAMILY DIVERSITY refers to the variety of family structures that exist in society (single parent, empty nest,
nuclear, extended etc). There has been increased diversity due to marriage being expensive, less stigma,
rise in feminism.
The average size of household is getting smaller,
% of nuclear families has decreased,
Increase in step-families,
Increase in same sex families,
Increase in the number of people cohabiting,
Increase in the number of children born outside of marriage.
The Rapoports believe the increase family diversity is a good thing They characterise UK society by 6
different types of diversity… Organisational, Cultural, Social Class, Life Course and Generational.
Reasons for rise in family diversity Consequences for the rise in family diversity
Divorce Reform Act 1969 Stability
Secularisation More role models/ lack of role models
High employment Emotional strain & psychological issues
Sex Discrimination Act Strain on welfare system
Equal Pay Act End to abuse?
Childcare support Intergenerational socialisation
Cost of marriage New address, new school etc
IVF Shared expenses
Rise in feminism Lack of primary socialisation
Traditionally social phases were fixed, however Carol Smart suggested personal life perspective, which
shows how individuals are able to make choices about their own life course without being completely
controlled by social forces.
A change in life course has meant that individuals no longer follow traditional expectations. Stacey supports
Carol Smart by looking at the way women can change families and structures to suit their needs.
Is the nuclear family universal?
Reasons for changing family trends (+ consequences)
Best Fit Theory
Life course (Carol Smart)
, Theories of Families
Functionalism
- Murdock looked at 250 societies in different cultures and argued that some form of the nuclear
family existed in all. He says that the family performs 4 basic functions – sexual, reproductive,
economical, and educational (social).
- Parsons says that the family provides primary socialisation and stabilisation of the adult personality
by acting as the ‘warm bath’ for everyone. He talks about the ‘functional fit theory’ explaining that
the nuclear family is an adaptation to industrialisation
EVALUATION -> The functionalist theory of families identifies key functions and how the family works in
relation to other institutions but ignores dysfunctional aspects like the dark side of the family. Marxists and
feminists claim they ignore oppression, inequality and conflict.
New Right
- Hold the belief that the traditional nuclear family and its values are best for society
- Charles Murray said ‘the nuclear family’ is under threat, he claims welfare benefits are too high and
create a ‘culture of dependency’ where some young women can opt for lone single parenthood
- Halsey and Dennis support Murray by recognising the problems of single parenting, in particular the
problem of absent fathers
- Propose two solutions to the breakdown of the nuclear family: cuts on benefits and social services &
new polices to favour married couples
EVALUATION -> The New Right view is adopts a very critical, conservative approach to the family, and
tend to blame the victim for their problems. They are also sexist in the way they are concerned about a
single parent (mother) family not being about to socialise children adequately.
Marxist
- Engels suggested that the family unit evolved in response to private ownership of property due to
the need for legitimate heirs to pass on property
- Althusser looks at how the ideological state apparatus control the working class to accept positions
in society. He looks at how the elite suggest that family life should be organised, and this is passed
down and policed through other agencies.
EVALUATION -> Feminists would be critical of the Marxist approach to families at it assumes women are
controlled by capitalism rather than patriarchy. There is little research evidence to back up what Engels and
Althusser are saying, they are just theoretical.
Feminism
- Marxist feminists like Bernard, Ansley, Barret and Macintosh say that exploitation of women is
essential to the success of capitalism, and that capitalism is to blame for all of women’s problems
- Radical feminists explain that housework is an area of exploitation of women, patriarchy is the main
problem, and women are the victims of subordination and oppression because men dominate the
world of work
- Liberal feminists acknowledge that there has been change brought about within society, and that
nowadays men and women have equal potential and will become equal if given the same
opportunities
EVALUATION -> All strands of feminism portray women as too passive and don’t acknowledge that power
can be shared. New Right would argue that equality is not always a good thing as working women often
neglect their children.
Post- Modernism
- Stress the degree of variation, diversity and fragmentation which characterise contemporary
understandings of the family
- No longer speak of the family as having a clearly -discernible fixed form
EVALUATION -> Often what they talk about is the exception, and not the rule, so it is actually less
widespread as traditional relationships. Don’t take into account how people are shaped by social pressure.
Foucault & Donzelot
- State has too much control over the family through interfering social policies
- Education and family are ‘gentle ways of punishment’ due to their internalised surveillance and
control, which leads to people self-policing their own behaviour
Divorce Reform Act 1969
Sure Start 1998
Child Maintenance and Child Support Agency 1993
New Deal
The Marriage Act 2013
The Troubled Families Programme 2012
Family trends have evolved in a post-modern world
Separation and divorces has increased due to the Divorce Reform Act
Rates of opposite sex couple marrying has fallen because there is now less pressure to get married,
this has negatively impacted the wedding industry and caused a decline in birth rates
Cohabitation is the fastest growing family type in the UK due to lots of divorces in the media,
expensive marriage and divorce
Fall in birth rates and women are having children later, which has been impacted by the Equal Pay
Act
The BEST FIT THEORY looks at how family types change over time due to society’s needs
1790 Pre Industrial Society – Extended family with children as an economic asset in an agricultural society
1790 – 1900 Industrial Society – Nuclear family to move with men for work in a capitalist society
Post–Industrial Society – No one family type as we have moved away from manual work there is
increased family diversity
FAMILY DIVERSITY refers to the variety of family structures that exist in society (single parent, empty nest,
nuclear, extended etc). There has been increased diversity due to marriage being expensive, less stigma,
rise in feminism.
The average size of household is getting smaller,
% of nuclear families has decreased,
Increase in step-families,
Increase in same sex families,
Increase in the number of people cohabiting,
Increase in the number of children born outside of marriage.
The Rapoports believe the increase family diversity is a good thing They characterise UK society by 6
different types of diversity… Organisational, Cultural, Social Class, Life Course and Generational.
Reasons for rise in family diversity Consequences for the rise in family diversity
Divorce Reform Act 1969 Stability
Secularisation More role models/ lack of role models
High employment Emotional strain & psychological issues
Sex Discrimination Act Strain on welfare system
Equal Pay Act End to abuse?
Childcare support Intergenerational socialisation
Cost of marriage New address, new school etc
IVF Shared expenses
Rise in feminism Lack of primary socialisation
Traditionally social phases were fixed, however Carol Smart suggested personal life perspective, which
shows how individuals are able to make choices about their own life course without being completely
controlled by social forces.
A change in life course has meant that individuals no longer follow traditional expectations. Stacey supports
Carol Smart by looking at the way women can change families and structures to suit their needs.
Is the nuclear family universal?
Reasons for changing family trends (+ consequences)
Best Fit Theory
Life course (Carol Smart)
, Theories of Families
Functionalism
- Murdock looked at 250 societies in different cultures and argued that some form of the nuclear
family existed in all. He says that the family performs 4 basic functions – sexual, reproductive,
economical, and educational (social).
- Parsons says that the family provides primary socialisation and stabilisation of the adult personality
by acting as the ‘warm bath’ for everyone. He talks about the ‘functional fit theory’ explaining that
the nuclear family is an adaptation to industrialisation
EVALUATION -> The functionalist theory of families identifies key functions and how the family works in
relation to other institutions but ignores dysfunctional aspects like the dark side of the family. Marxists and
feminists claim they ignore oppression, inequality and conflict.
New Right
- Hold the belief that the traditional nuclear family and its values are best for society
- Charles Murray said ‘the nuclear family’ is under threat, he claims welfare benefits are too high and
create a ‘culture of dependency’ where some young women can opt for lone single parenthood
- Halsey and Dennis support Murray by recognising the problems of single parenting, in particular the
problem of absent fathers
- Propose two solutions to the breakdown of the nuclear family: cuts on benefits and social services &
new polices to favour married couples
EVALUATION -> The New Right view is adopts a very critical, conservative approach to the family, and
tend to blame the victim for their problems. They are also sexist in the way they are concerned about a
single parent (mother) family not being about to socialise children adequately.
Marxist
- Engels suggested that the family unit evolved in response to private ownership of property due to
the need for legitimate heirs to pass on property
- Althusser looks at how the ideological state apparatus control the working class to accept positions
in society. He looks at how the elite suggest that family life should be organised, and this is passed
down and policed through other agencies.
EVALUATION -> Feminists would be critical of the Marxist approach to families at it assumes women are
controlled by capitalism rather than patriarchy. There is little research evidence to back up what Engels and
Althusser are saying, they are just theoretical.
Feminism
- Marxist feminists like Bernard, Ansley, Barret and Macintosh say that exploitation of women is
essential to the success of capitalism, and that capitalism is to blame for all of women’s problems
- Radical feminists explain that housework is an area of exploitation of women, patriarchy is the main
problem, and women are the victims of subordination and oppression because men dominate the
world of work
- Liberal feminists acknowledge that there has been change brought about within society, and that
nowadays men and women have equal potential and will become equal if given the same
opportunities
EVALUATION -> All strands of feminism portray women as too passive and don’t acknowledge that power
can be shared. New Right would argue that equality is not always a good thing as working women often
neglect their children.
Post- Modernism
- Stress the degree of variation, diversity and fragmentation which characterise contemporary
understandings of the family
- No longer speak of the family as having a clearly -discernible fixed form
EVALUATION -> Often what they talk about is the exception, and not the rule, so it is actually less
widespread as traditional relationships. Don’t take into account how people are shaped by social pressure.
Foucault & Donzelot
- State has too much control over the family through interfering social policies
- Education and family are ‘gentle ways of punishment’ due to their internalised surveillance and
control, which leads to people self-policing their own behaviour
Divorce Reform Act 1969
Sure Start 1998
Child Maintenance and Child Support Agency 1993
New Deal
The Marriage Act 2013
The Troubled Families Programme 2012
