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Families and Relationships

Power, the dark side of the family and theories of partner roles

  • 3 things to know
  • Component 01

Overview

Recall questions on power between partners, including Edgell on decision-making and the allowance and pooling systems, the dark side of the family, coercive control, Dobash and Dobash and Marxist accounts of domestic violence, Leach and Laing and Cooper, and functionalist, Marxist and feminist approaches to roles between partners.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

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Key term

Why is domestic abuse likely to be under-recorded?

Who and when

What did Edmund Leach argue about the emotional demands of the nuclear family?

Who and when

What did Laing and Cooper claim about the family?

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

  1. 1

    What did Edgell find about decision-making in couples?

    Model answer

    In his study of professional couples, Edgell found that very important and infrequent decisions such as moving house or major finance were taken by the husband or jointly with him dominant, while women decided routine, low-cost matters like food shopping.

  2. 2

    Distinguish the allowance system from pooling in household money management.

    Model answer

    In the allowance system the man gives his partner a set sum for housekeeping and keeps control of the rest, while pooling means both partners have access to a shared account; pooling looks more equal but the man often still has the greater say.

  3. 3

    Why is control of resources treated as an indicator of power in a relationship?

    Model answer

    Because the partner who controls money and decides how it is spent can shape the household's priorities and limit the other partner's independence, including their ability to leave.

  4. 4

    What is meant by the 'dark side' of the family?

    Model answer

    It refers to the harmful side of family life that consensus accounts overlook: domestic abuse, child abuse, neglect, coercive control and the psychological damage close family relationships can inflict.

  5. 5

    Define coercive control.

    Model answer

    Coercive control is a pattern of intimidation, isolation, surveillance and financial restriction used to dominate a partner, and it is recognised as domestic abuse even where there is no physical violence.

  6. 6

    How do radical feminists explain domestic violence against women?

    Model answer

    Dobash and Dobash argue that violence is not the act of a few disturbed individuals but a product of patriarchy: marriage confers authority on men, and violence typically follows a wife's perceived challenge to it.

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AVictims may fear reprisal, or feel shame or economic dependence.
BAbuse in the home has historically been treated as a private matter.
CMany incidents are never reported or recorded.

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