Divorce - Changing Family Patterns

Question 1

Explanations for the Increase in Divorce

1. Changes in the Law

Answer 1

• divorce was difficult for women to obtain
• changes in the law have made divorce easier. There have been three kinds of change in the law:
  Equalising the grounds
  Widening the grounds
  Making Divorce Cheaper
• divorce has risen with each change in the law

Question 2

Explanations for the Increase in Divorce

2. Declining Stigma and Changing Attitudes

Answer 2

Stigma refers to the negative label, social disapproval or shame attached to a person, action or relationship.

• In the past divorce has been stigmatised e.g. churches tend to condemn divorce and often reduced to conduct marriage services with divorcees
• as stigma declines and divorce becomes more socially acceptable, couples become more willing to resort to divorce as a means of solving their marital problems
• it is now ‘normalised’ and reduces the stigma attached. Rather than being seen as shameful, today its more likely to be regarded simply as a misfortune

Question 3

Explanations for the Increase in Divorce

2. Declining Stigma and Changing Attitudes - Mitchell and Goody

Answer 3

note that an important change since the 1960’s has been the rapid decline in the stigma attached to divorce

Question 4

Explanations for the Increase in Divorce

3. Secularisation

Answer 4

Secularisation - refers to the decline in the influence of religion in society

• many argue that religious institutions and ideas are losing their influence and society is becoming more secular e.g. church attendance declining.
• the traditional opposition of the church carries less weight in society and people are less likely to be influenced by religious teachings when making decisions about personal matters
• at the same time many churches have also begun to soften their views on divorce, perhaps because they fear losing credibility with large sections of the public and with their own members.

Question 5

Explanations for the Increase in Divorce

4. Rising Expectations of Marriage - Fletcher

Answer 5

• argue that the higher expectations people place on marriage today are a major cause of rising divorce rates. Higher expectations make couples less willing to tolerate an unhappy marriage.

Question 6

Explanations for the Increase in Divorce

4. Rising Expectations of Marriage

Answer 6

• this is linked to the ideology of romantic love - an idea that has become dominant.
• it follows that if love dies there is no longer any justification for remaining married and every reason to divorce as to be able to renew the search for one’s true soulmates
• in the past individuals often had little choice in who they married, marriages often contracted for economic reasons. Individuals were unlikely to have the high expectations expectations about marriage.
• entering marriage with lower expectations they were therefore less likely to be dissatisfied by the absence of romance and intimacy.
• marriage is no longer a binding contract, but as a relationship in which individuals seek personal fulfilment and this encourages couples to divorce if they do not find it.

Question 7

Explanations for the Increase in Divorce

4. Rising Expectations of Marriage - Fletcher

Answer 7

• takes an optimistic view.
• they point to the continuing popularity of marriage
• most adults marry and the high rate of re marriage after divorcees may have become dissatisfied with a particular partner they have not rejected society as an institution.

Question 8

Explanations for the Increase in Divorce
4. Rising Expectations of Marriage
Criticism

Answer 8

• Feminists argue that this is too rosy a view.
  They argue that oppression within the family is the main cause of marital conflict and divorce but functionalists ignore this

Question 9

Explanations for the Increase in Divorce

5. Women’s Increased Financial Independence

Answer 9

• women seek divorce more is due to the improvements in their economic position have made them less financially dependant on husband’s and therefore freerer to end an unsatisfactory marriage.
  1. women today are much more likely to be in paid work
  2. equal pay and anti discrimination laws have helped narrow pay gap
  3. girls greater success in edu now helps them to achieve better paid jobs than previous
  4. Availability of Welfare Benefits means that women no longer have to remain financially dependant on their husbands
• these developments mean that women are more likely to be able support themselves in the event of divorce

Question 10

Explanations for the Increase in Divorce
5. Women’s Increased Financial Independence
Allan and Crow

Answer 10

• argue that ‘marriage is less embedded within the economic system’ now.
• the family is no longer a unit of production, so spouses are not so dependent on each other economically as women now have their own separate source of income from paid work.
• women do not have to tolerate conflict nor the absence of love and in such circumstances they are more willing to seek divorce

Question 11

Explanations for the Increase in Divorce

6. Feminist Explanations

Answer 11

• married women today bear a dual burden: required to take on paid work and housework
• in the view of feminists this has created a new source of conflict between husbands and wives and this is leading to a higher divorce rate than in the past

Question 12

Explanations for the Increase in Divorce
7. Modernity and Individualisation
Beck and Giddens

Answer 12

• argue that in modern society, traditional norms such as the duty to remain with the same partner for life, lose their hold over individuals.
• as a result each individual becomes free to pursue their own self interest.