Transcript Family Diversity - Education Forum

Family Diversity
An online learning resource from
www.educationforum.co.uk
What is meant by
diversity?
• Some sociologists are very critical of the
“New Right” view that there is only one
ideal type of family structure (nuclear
family of heterosexual married couple with
traditional roles), and suggest instead that
family life in the UK is diverse – this
means there are a range of family types
Whatever happened to
the nuclear family?
• 25% of all households comprise of people living
alone and this is rising
• 27% of all households are married people without
children
• In working class communities dispersed extended
family arrangements still exist (kept together by
modern communications)
• New family structures have emerged such as
Cohabiting families, Lone Parent families,
Reconstituted families, and Homosexual families.
Cohabitation
• As marriage has declined and divorce rates
risen, the numbers of couples living
together or cohabitating has also risen
• For woman aged 20-24 cohabitation rates
increased from 1981-1990 from 6% to 16%
• Nearly 40% of babies born to unmarried
women are born to women who are
cohabitating with the father of the child
Why Has Cohabitation
increased?
• Giddens (a post modernist)
suggests marriage is less
relevant in modern society
and less important in
terms of economic
security.
• Giddens also suggests that
female attitudes to
sexuality is responsible –
fidelity less important
because of women's
movement and
contraception
Lone Parent Families
• The lone parent family is one of the most
common family structures in modern
society – 1 in 5 children now live in one
parent families.
• Only 10% of lone parent families are
headed by the father
• Between 1970 and 1990 the numbers of
lone parent families doubled in the UK
Reconstituted Families
• These are families in which children
from former relationships are
brought to a new family relationship
• Over 1/3rd of all families are now
Reconstituted mainly as a result of
rising divorce rates
Ethnic Minority Families
• There is considerable diversity
amongst ethnic minority families
• Afro Caribbeans have a high rate of
female headed lone parent families
• Pakistani, Chinese and Bangladeshi
origin families are more likely to be
extended.
Homosexual Families
• The numbers of
homosexual families
(where parents are
either gay or lesbian)
is rising.
• It seems inevitable
that as society
becomes more
tolerant this trend will
increase
Conclusion
• It seems likely
that very soon over
half of all children
will live in non
traditional family
arrangements
• Lesson Home