1. An online learning resource from www.educationforum.co.uk
Family Diversity
An online learning resource from

2. What is meant by diversity?
Some sociologists are very critical of the “New Right” view that there is only one ideal type of family structure (nuclear family of heterosexual married couple with traditional roles), and suggest instead that family life in the UK is diverse – this means there are a range of family types

3. Whatever happened to the nuclear family?
25% of all households comprise of people living alone and this is rising
27% of all households are married people without children
In working class communities dispersed extended family arrangements still exist (kept together by modern communications)
New family structures have emerged such as Cohabiting families, Lone Parent families, Reconstituted families, and Homosexual families.

4. Cohabitation
As marriage has declined and divorce rates risen, the numbers of couples living together or cohabitating has also risen
For woman aged cohabitation rates increased from from 6% to 16%
Nearly 40% of babies born to unmarried women are born to women who are cohabitating with the father of the child

5. Why Has Cohabitation increased?
Giddens (a post modernist) suggests marriage is less relevant in modern society and less important in terms of economic security.
Giddens also suggests that female attitudes to sexuality is responsible – fidelity less important because of women's movement and contraception

6. Lone Parent Families
The lone parent family is one of the most common family structures in modern society – 1 in 5 children now live in one parent families.
Only 10% of lone parent families are headed by the father
Between 1970 and 1990 the numbers of lone parent families doubled in the UK

7. Reconstituted Families
These are families in which children from former relationships are brought to a new family relationship
Over 1/3rd of all families are now Reconstituted mainly as a result of rising divorce rates

8. Ethnic Minority Families
There is considerable diversity amongst ethnic minority families
Afro Caribbeans have a high rate of female headed lone parent families
Pakistani, Chinese and Bangladeshi origin families are more likely to be extended.

9. Homosexual Families
The numbers of homosexual families (where parents are either gay or lesbian) is rising.
It seems inevitable that as society becomes more tolerant this trend will increase

10. Conclusion
It seems likely that very soon over half of all children will live in non traditional family arrangements
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