Social change and family structures

Overview

How norms, secularisation, laws, feminism, the economy, technology and immigration changed families, the Rapoports' five types of diversity, divorce, cohabitation, later marriage, singlehood and family size.

What you need to know

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Questions from this subtopic

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1. 1

   How have changing social norms affected family structures in the UK?

   Model answer

   Divorce, cohabitation and births outside marriage carry far less stigma than in the 1950s. Weaker stigma lets people choose family forms that were once seen as deviant.

2. 2

   What is secularisation, and how has it affected marriage and divorce?

   Model answer

   Secularisation is the declining influence of religion on society and on individuals. Fewer people feel religious pressure to marry, stay married or avoid cohabiting. ONS figures show most weddings in England and Wales are now civil rather than religious ceremonies.

3. 3

   How did the Divorce Reform Act 1969 change divorce?

   Model answer

   The Divorce Reform Act 1969, in force from 1971, made irretrievable breakdown the single ground for divorce. Couples separated for two years, with consent, no longer had to prove adultery or cruelty. Divorce numbers rose sharply in the 1970s.

4. 4

   What changed when no-fault divorce was introduced in England and Wales?

   Model answer

   The Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Act 2020 brought in no-fault divorce from April 2022. A couple, or one spouse, can now apply simply by stating the marriage has irretrievably broken down.

5. 5

   How has feminism affected divorce?

   Model answer

   Feminism raised women's expectations of equality and fulfilment in marriage. Women with their own earnings can more easily leave an unhappy marriage. ONS figures show that wives brought most divorce petitions in the decades before 2022.

6. 6

   Outline how economic factors have changed family structures.

   Model answer

   More women in paid work means less financial dependence on a husband and more choice about marriage. High housing costs delay leaving home, marrying and having children.

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