Marriage, cohabitation + divorce

Question 1

What was marriage traditionally

Answer 1

Monogomous and for life

Question 2

What has UK society now moved towards

Answer 2

Serial monogamy

Question 3

What has secularisation meant for marriage

Answer 3

Before the 1970s, most weddings were religious ceremonies in a church, but these were a minority in 2012

Question 4

Trends in marriage

Answer 4

• Marriage rates peaked in 1940 but have been reducing since 1970
• Entry into marriage has been postponed to later ages among recent generations
• An increasing proportion of marriages are now remarriages

Question 5

What is cohabitation

Answer 5

Living together outside of marriage. This includes civil partnerships

Question 6

How was cohabitation viewed in the past

Answer 6

It existed in the past but was viewed as immoral and sinful

Question 7

Trends in cohabitation

Answer 7

• 80% of couples who cohabit go on to marry
• Couples cohabit 4 years on average before marriage
• The number of people aged 16 and over who cohabit has risen since 1990
• Childbearing while cohabiting has increased
• Cohabitation is the fastest growing UK family type

Question 8

Cohabitation studies

Answer 8

• Cohabitation before marriage makes it less likely to end in divorce (Beaujouan and Ní Brochlain 2011)
• For poorer couples, cohabitation is a way of living which reflects economic uncertainity
• Young couples with low-paid jobs may choose to cohabit as it allows them to leave their parents home and share household expenses
• There has also been an increase in those 65+ who cohabit

Question 9

Four main reasons for the rise in cohabitation

Answer 9

• changing social attitudes - people were expected to marry before living together
• The decline in family values - families are no longer expected to conform to the traditional nuclear family ideal
• Individualisation - Beck and Beck-Gernsheim say people now put their own needs first
• The changing role of women - Up until the 1980s marriage and childrearing were considered the main roles of women

Question 10

Why divorce is rising

Answer 10

• The privatised nuclear family - Isolation from extended kin means less pressure to stay together
• Changing social attitudes - A decline in religion led to divorce being seen as a necessary evil
• Changing roles for women - women are more likely to initiate divorce as they are no longer financially dependant on their husbands
• Higher expectations of marriage - Partners will no longer tolerate an abusive marriage
• Individualisation and reflexivity - People are now more self-oriented