Families and Household Revision Guide

7/23/2019 Families and Household Revision Guide

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Revision activitybooklet for

Paper 1

Topic 3 – Families andHouseholds



Family

What types of family are there? Green Ambe

r

R

What is a family?

What are nuclear, extended, lone, same sex, reconstituted and empty nest

families?

Why is there a greater diversity of families in Britain today?

What are the different sociological viewpoints on the family?

Is the nuclear family typical of families in modern Britain?

What are functionalist views on the family?

What are New Right views on the family?

What do sociologists mean by the dark side of the family?

Why do feminists believe the nuclear family is unfair on women?

What are the different roles people play in the family?

What is the division of labour?

What are conugal roles?

What is the symmetrical family?

!oes the New "an exist?

What role do grandparents play in families?



What role do children play in families?

#ow have children$s role in the family changed in the last %& years?

Why have men and women$s roles in the family changed in the last %& years?

How has life course changed over the last 50 years?

#ow has life expectancy changed?

#ow have patterns of fertility changed?

What impact will an ageing population have on the country?

How has the family changed over the last 50 years?

Why has marriage declined?

Why has cohabitation increased?

Why have births outside of marriage increased?

What are the effects of divorce?

What are the arguments in favour of lone parent families?

What are the arguments against lone parent families?

ontemporary e!amples

What debates are there around the 'uality of parenting as a social issue?

What debates are there around the care of the disabled and elderly as a

social issue?

What debates are there around the relationship between teenagers and

adults as a social issue?

(an you give ) recent examples from the news that relate to anything

above?



pecialist key terms !lossary

Beanpole families

Bigamy

Birth rate

Breadwinner

Cereal packet family

Child-centredness

Civil partnership

Cohabitation

Commune

Conjugal roles- joint/segregated

Death rate

Democratic relationships



Demography

Domestic abuse

Domestic division of labour

Divorce rate

Dual-worker families

Extended family

Empty nest

Empty shell marriage

amily Diversity

ertility rate

!eneration

"ousehold

"ousehusband/wife

#one-parent family



$arriage rate

$atriarchal family

$onogamy

%ew man

%eo-conventional families

%uclear family

&atriarchy

&olygamy

'econstituted family/step-parent

(ymmetrical families

)raditional family roles



What is a family?

• It is difficult to produce an ade'uate definition of a *family$ that captures the

variety of families in Britain+

What different types of households and families are there in "ritain today?

• everal different types of households and families exist in Britain today+

How might an individual#s family and household settings change over the course of

their life?

• Individual$s will live in many different family and household situations

during their lifetime+

•

How do functionalist approaches view families and family life?

• -here are different sociological approaches to the study of families+

• .unctionalists believe that the nuclear family performs important functions for

individuals and

society+

How do new right approaches view families and family life?

• -he new right approach argues that the family values are declining and,

as a result, the family is in crisis+

How do critical approaches view families and family life?

• ome sociologist$s approaches are critical of modern families and their role in society+

• "arxists approaches link families to social class ine'ualities+

• .eminist approach link families to gender ine'ualities+



What were gender roles and relationships between adult partners li$e in the past?

• ociologists study roles and relationship between married and cohabiting

partners+ It is argued that, in the early part of the /&th century, conugal roles

were segregated, or separate and une'ual+

What is the symmetrical family and why has it emerged?

• -here is some evidence that roles and relationships between married and

cohabiting partners are becoming more e'ual+

• 0oung and Wilmot 1234)5 suggest that the symmetrical family 6 in which there is

greater e'uality between spouses 6 was typical in Britain+

• -he rise of the symmetrical family is linked to feminism, effective

contraception, changes in the social position of women and increased interest in

home life+

%s the symmetrical family reality or a myth?

• .eminists reect the idea that conugal roles and relationships are e'ual+

Between the 237&s and 238&s, women reduced their time spent on domestic

work but men did not significantly increase theirs+

• 9ttitudes to gender roles may have changes and there is some evidence that

fathers are becoming more involved as parents+ -his may, however, lead to

tension between parents+

How is power distributed between partners in relationships?

• ociologists are interested in studying the distribution of power in relationships

between partners+ -hey focus on financial decision:making and domestic

violence+

How have relationships between parents and their children changed over time?



• Relationships between parents and their children have changed over time+ ;ne

view is that there is now less emphasis on discipline and more emphasis on

individual freedom+• (hildren may contribute to childcare and domestic tasks within families+

How have peoples relationships with members of their wider family changed over

time?

• ome approaches suggest that the wider family is becoming less important in

our lives+ ;ther emphasi<es the continuing importance of family ties+

What are the current trends in families and households?

• ince the mid:234&s, there have been significant changes in families and

households+ -hese changes include an increase in one:person households and a

decline in the traditional nuclear family+

What are the current trends in lone&parent families?

• -he proportion of households containing lone:parent families increased from )

per cent to 4 per cent between 2342 and /&&4+ -his is linked+ -his is linked to

changing attitudes and the increase in divorce+

What other changes are ta$ing place in families and households?

• (hanges in families and households since the mid:234&s include an increase in

the significance of stepfamilies and dual:worker families+ ome approaches

suggest that the wider family is becoming less important in our lives+ ;ther

emphasi<es the continuing importance of family ties+

What are the lin$s between families' households' ethnicity and social class?



• Britain is a culturally diverse society and immigration has been taking place for

centuries+ "igration has added to the overall diversity of families and

households in Britain+How have changing patterns of fertility affected families and households?

• !emographic changes are having an impact on families and households+ (hanging

patterns of fertility mean that women are not only having fewer children, they

are having them later in life+

• -here is also a trend towards a smaller family si<e+

What are the changing patterns of life e!pectancy and infant mortality?

• =ife expectancy has increased+ -his is linked to welfare state provisions,

developments in public health and medicine, and improvements in diet and

nutrition+

• -he infant mortality rate has fallen+

How has the age structure of the population changed and what are the

conse(uences of this?

• Britain has an ageing population+

• "ultigenerational families are associated with longer life expectancy and an

ageing population+

How do older people e!perience retirement?

• ;lder people$s experiences of retirement differ according to their age+

• >eople in later life may provide services in the community and unpaid care within

families+

• lderly people$s access to material, health and caring resources influence

whether they can live independently in the community+



What are the changing patterns of marriages?

• -he marriage rate is declining, people are getting married at a later age,

cohabitation has increased and the proportion of births outside marriage has

increased+• (ivil partnerships were introduced in the @A in /&&%+

What are the changing patterns of divorce?

• -he divorce rate in the @A doubled between 2342 and 2382, increased again in

the 233&$s, and has declined more recently+

• everal factors explain the increase in divorce in the @A+ -hese include changing

social attitudes, legal changes, changes in the social position of women,

seculari<ation and the influence of the media+

What are the conse(uences of divorce?

• !ivorce has conse'uences for individuals and society+ ;ne conse'uence is an

increase in stepfamilies+ ;ther possible conse'uences are loss of contact

between children and one parent, conflict between former spouses over

parenting and property issues, loss on income for former spouses and loss of

emotional support, particularly for divorced men+

What is the difference between arranged and forced marriages?

• In arranged marriages, the partners consent to the marriage+ In forced

marriages, either one or both of the parents do not consent to the marriage and

some degree of force is involved+

What sort of family&related issues are currently causing concern?

• Issues related to families and children cause concern in the media and among

politicians and policy makers+ ociological research can inform the debates o

these issues and influence social policy+

• overnments try to help families, for example by providing payments such as

-ax (redits and through programmes such as ure tart+



)ociological )tudies on the family*

+ewson ,-ew Right. / .our main aspects of family valuesC normal family type,

women are the carers, should look after each other and oppose modern values+

Halsey / vidence shows that children whose parents do not follow the

traditional norm are more likely to die younger, have more illness, do less well at

school, suffer unemployment+

Willmott and oung / vidence of greater sharing of obs and roles and more

caring relationships between partners+

"ritish )ocial Attitudes survey 6 hows changing views that traditional roles

are less likely to be believed and seen as ok for women to work after having

children+

1a$ley / ymmetrical family is a myth and division of labour still in place+

rompton and 2yonette / 9ttitudes to gender roles have changed but men$s

actual participation in household tasks has not+

Gatrell / Increased interest by men in childcare creates tension in the

household as they take on more *rewarding$ obs but ignore others like cleaning+

3ahl / #usbands more likely to be dominant in decision making+



)ocial trends / >ercentage of households that are traditional nuclear families

has dropped from )%D in 2342 to /2D in /&&4+

)ocial trends / >ercentage of one person households has increased from 28D in

2342 to /3D in /&&4+

+ewson 6 9fro:(aribbean families have a higher proportion of lone parent

families+

"ritish )ocial Attitudes / ;nly /3D of respondents saw friends as more

dependable than family in times of crisis+

)ocial 4rends / (ohabitating has increased from 2/D of under 7&s in 2387 to

/%D in /&&7+



Ho" to ans"er #uestions on the Family

$ou must kno" some key thin!s before you ans"er the #uestions

in these papers%

1& $'( )(T *N'+ TH, T,R) 'N $'(R *,$ +'R- ./T0& The di2erent ar!uments sociolo!ists have on the main social

issues in each topic i0e0 "hy do some !roups do better ineducation than other is the nuclear family declinin! are"omen represented fairly in the media0

3& ome recent e4amples from the ne"s to illustrate yourpoints – N'T $'(R '+N 'P/N/'N or +H5T H5 H5PP,N,-T' $'(R )5T, 'R $'(R N5N6 FR/,N-7

8&N,9,R ,9,R :'P$ '(T TH, ;(,T/'N 'N $'(R 5N+,R P5P,R0

TH/ / 5 +5T, 'F $'(R PR,:/'( T/),0

;uestions0

1 and 0 electin! information from sources0 1 )5R*0

From item A, ……/ From item B …

How do I answer this question?

Read the item. Underline the correct piece of information.

Only write one word or phrase for the answer. Do not write a full sentence.

30 /dentifyin! t"o types of sociolo!ical information0 )5R*0

Identify one advantage and one disadvantage of ……../Identify 2types …..


You only need to write one short sentence for each thing you have to

identify. They must be brief and to the point and take you no more than

one minute.

For every #uestion in

this section you

must spend the

follo"in! amount of

time on each

#uestion

1 mark – 1 minute

<4&0



80 ,4plain "hat a sociolo!ical concept or term means0 8)5R*0

Explain what sociologists mean y …0


In this answer you must eplain in some detail what the !uestion is

asking. This means at least "# but no more than $# sentences eplaining

one of the terms from your key words list. DO %OT &I'( ()*+,-( TO

I--UTR*T( /(R(. Do not give eamples from your life 0as you would not

do anywhere in the eam1. 2ust eplain what it means sociologically.

> and ?0 -escribe and e4plain sociolo!ical issues and processes0 >)5R*0

!escrie one reason why ….and explain why


You need to answer this !uestion in two sections# leaving a line between

them. Your describe part should be one sentence long and address the

point in the !uestion directly.

Then leave a line and address the eplain bit. T/I /OU-D 3( -I%4(D TO

T/( D(5RI3( 3IT. You should write at least "# but no more than $#

sentences to eplain this part of the !uestion. You may use a sociological

eample# but again do not talk about you or your eperience. You may be

able to use the items to support your eplanation 3UT DO %OT 5O,Y

*%YT/I%& 6RO+ T/(+.

@an 13 (plain what sociologists mean by cohabitation. (4 marks)

@une 1 (plain what sociologists mean by primary socialisation. (4 marks)



@an 1 (plain what sociologists mean by authority relationships in families. (4marks)

@une 11 (plain what sociologists mean by a reconstituted family. (4 marks)

@an 11 (plain what sociologists mean by a traditional nuclear family. (4 marks)

@une 1A (plain what sociologists mean by an etended family. (4 marks)

> mark

@an 135 Describe one way in which gender roles in the family have changed inthe past 78 years and eplain why this change has happened. (5 marks)



@an 13B Describe one family type which is more commonly found in 3ritaintoday than in the 9:;8s and eplain why this change has happened. (5 marks)

@une 15Describe one family type found in 3ritain and eplain how it isdi<erent from any one other family type. (5 marks)

@une 1B Describe one way in which an individual=s family or householdsituation might change over the course of their life# apart from divorce# andeplain why this change may occur.(5 marks)

@an 15 Describe one change in the role of women in families and eplainwhy this change has occurred. (5 marks)

@an 1B Describe how the pattern of divorce has changed in 3ritain over the last78 years and eplain why this pattern has occurred. (5 marks)

@une 115 Describe one way in which relations between parents and childrenhave changed in the last $8 years or so and eplain why this change hashappened. (5 marks)



@une 11B Describe the feminist approach to the family and eplain how thisapproach is di<erent from other sociological approaches. (5 marks)

@an 115 Describe one possible conse!uence of divorce for husbands andeplain how this may have an e<ect on them. (5 marks)

@an 11B Describe one change in family si>e in 3ritain and eplain why thischange has occurred.(5 marks)

@an 1A 5 Describe one form of help which a grandparent might provide for afamily and eplain how this may help members of a family. (5 marks)

@an 1A B Describe one way in which governments might provide assistance tolone parent families and eplain how this would assist lone parents. (5 marks)



PEELing apart your essay

6or your !uestion# identify at least three points ? there must be at leastO%( in each column.

ociolo!ists +'(.- a!ree ociolo!ists +'(.- N'T a!ree

%ntroductions@se the 'uestion at the beginning of your introduction for exampleC

How far Sociologists would agree that marriage in Britain

today is important is debateable because

1r

#ow far sociologists would agree that the type of school a

child attends has a signicant e!ect on his or her lifechances is debatable because

@se the introduction to brea$ down what the (uestion is asking youC

• efine any $ey terms it mentions 6 Elife chancesF

• Is there a theory it is talking about 6 "arxism G .unctionalism G New Right

• If statistics are involved, what is the $ey trend or pattern in this area? 6 Rising G .alling G teady G #igh G low

Now 3662 the 'uestion apart

Use the

words

from the

!uestion

as a

starter to

your @rst

,ointless picture of

a banana 0teacher



0ou need to do the following for 6AH of your H

points

P O I % T

theory or

concept

, ) , - *

I % "hat do

sociolo!ists think

about

thisC

Is there a theory that can be linkedB

, ) * + , - ( evidence

from stats

or arelevant

e4ample

from real

life

. I % 4 to the

#uestion

and ne4t

para!raph

onclusion starters

0our conclusion should address the essay (uestion directly 1weigh

up all the evidenceGtheories5 and answer the 7How far*# part* 6*g

-o a largeGa small G some extent sociologists agree because+++

-o sum up it would appear that manyGsome sociologists agreeGdisagree



In conclusion it would seem that mostGfew sociologists agreeGdisagree

"ention any statistics that support your conclusion

Family 12 mark questions

Discuss how far sociologists would agree that living in a family tends to benefit men morethan women* (12 marks)


OR

Discuss how far sociologists would agree that it is realistic to talk of a typical British familytoday*


)ark *no"led!e andunderstandin!

DHo" farE<,valuation&

ociolo!icalterms

pellin! punctuation

1G3 Basic statements withlittle sociology

no response very limited range poor

8G? (ome understandingof relevant sociology

no response limited range used appropriately*

some accuracy*

GI $ore developedunderstanding ofrelevant sociology

recognises +how far,* good range usedeffectively*

reasonable accuracy*

1AG1 Clear understandingunderstanding ofrelevant sociology

Explicitly and in detailaddresses +how far,

a wide range usedvery effectively*

considerable accuracy

(se the

mark

scheme

to

assess

how

well



June 2010

Discuss how far sociologists would agree that the nuclear family is the norm in Britain today*(12 marks)


Discuss how far sociologists would agree that ine.ualities exist within the home* 01 marks2


Jan 2011

Discuss how far sociologists would agree that marriage is still considered important inmodern British society* (12 marks)


Discuss how far sociologists would agree that the traditional nuclear family is the mostappropriate family type in which to raise children in modern Britain* (12 marks)




June 2011

Discuss how far sociologists would agree that there is e.uality between men and women inthe family* (12 marks)


Discuss how far sociologists would agree that the wider extended family is becoming lessimportant in society today* (12 marks)


Jan 2012

Discuss how far sociologists would agree that there is no longer a typical British family* (12marks)


Discuss how far sociologists would agree that changes in family si3e have led to familiesbecoming more child-centred* (12 marks)




June 2012

Discuss how far sociologists would agree that the roles of men and women in families havechanged significantly in the past 45 years* (12 marks)


Discuss how far sociologists would agree that changes in the divorce rate over the past 45years are due to changes in the law* (12 marks)


Jan 2013

Discuss how far sociologists would agree that marriage is important in 3ritaintoday. ("# marks)


Discuss how far sociologists would agree that the nuclear family is no longer thenorm in modern 3ritain. ("# marks)




Documents

Families and Household Revision Guide