Divorce

Test yourself

Reasons for the Increase in Divorce: Availability

The rise in the divorce rate can be explained by the increase in availability and acceptability.

Divorce rates

The number of marriages ending in divorce is about five times higher than it was fifty years ago, with around half of new marriages today ending in divorce.
The UK has one of the highest divorce rates in Europe.

Equality

Changes in the law over the last one-hundred years or so have made divorce easier and cheaper.
Men and women now have equal rights in divorce, for example, women can now initiate divorce.

Cost

Since the introduction of legal aid, divorce has become much cheaper, making it available to people who previously were unable to afford it.

Legal changes

In 1969 divorce law was changed so that it was no longer necessary to prove that a partner was guilty of a matrimonial offence and now a divorce can be granted because the marriage has broken down beyond repair (known as ‘irretrievable differences’).

Reasons for the Increase in Divorce: Acceptability

The rise in the divorce rate can be explained by the increase in availability and acceptability.

Equality

Due to growing equality between men and women, women are now less willing to accept the traditional patriarchal nature of marriage, such as domestic labour and segregated roles.
More women are now in paid employment, so they are less financially dependent on their husbands.

Contraception

The wider availability of safe and effective contraception means that it’s now safer to have sex with more than one person during marriage, this weakens traditional constraints on fidelity to a marriage partner, potentially exposing relationships to greater instability.

Religion

The decline in influence of religion (secularisation) means that marriage has lost its religious significance as a sacred and spiritual union so it is more easily abandoned if it fails.

Postmodernists

Postmodernists see the increase in divorce as linked to growing individualisation (self-interest) and uncertainly of late modern and postmodern societies.
Lives are also subject to greater choice, negotiation and decision-making, such as over household duties and finances, so they are more likely to be governed by self-interest rather than traditional controls of morality, social expectations and norms.

Postmodernists cont.

Giddens (a postmodernist) argues that personal fulfilment in relationships has grown in significance, so intimate relationships are no longer based on ideas of permanence; this means that people are less likely to stay with partners they see as unsatisfactory.

Reasons for the Increase in Divorce: Acceptability 2

The rise in the divorce rate can be explained by the increase in availability and acceptability.

Stigma

There is less social stigma attached to divorce than there once was, and divorce is now no longer regarded as scandalous.
Ditto, lone parenthood, cohabitation and stepfamilies are now widely accepted.

Life expectancy

The rise in the levels of life expectancy means that marriages now have more time to break down before a partner dies.

Functionalists

Functionalists (e.g. Parsons and Fletcher) argue that the divorce rate had risen because couples (and in particular, women) now demand more love, companionship, understanding, compatibility and fulfilment in their relationships and if these aren’t present they are more likely to separate.

Functionalists cont.

The family itself has lost its function, argue functionalists as many of the functions have been transferred to other social institutions, such as the NHS and the welfare state, resulting in marriage becoming less of a practical necessity.

1Theory & Methods

2Education with Methods in Context

2.1Role & Function of the Education System

2.1.1Introduction

2.1.2Functionalist Theories

2.1.3Marxist & Feminist Theories

2.1.4The New Right

2.2Educational Achievement

2.2.1Social Class: Internal Factors

2.2.2Social Class: External Factors

2.2.3Social Class: Attitudes to Education

2.2.4Social Class: Difference in Achievement

2.2.5Gender

2.2.6Ethnicity

2.3Relationships & Processes Within Schools

2.3.1Processes

2.3.2Labelling

2.3.3Categorisations

2.3.4Student Experience

2.3.5End of Topic Test -Education with Methods

2.4Educational Policies

2.4.1Equality

2.4.2Privatisation

2.4.3Marketisation

2.4.4Government Policies by Party

2.4.5Globalisation

2.4.6End of Topic Test- Educational Policies

2.4.7Practice Exam Question - Social Policies

3Option 1: Culture & Identity

4Option 1: Families & Households

4.1Families & Households

4.1.1Definitions

4.1.2Functionalist & New Right Perspectives

4.1.3Marxist & Feminist Perspectives

4.1.4Postmodernist Perspective

4.1.5End of Topic Test - Families & Households

4.1.6Practice Exam Question - Function of Family

4.2Changing Patterns

4.2.1Marriage

4.2.2Divorce

4.2.3LAT Relationships

4.2.4Child-Bearing

4.2.5Lone Parenthood

4.2.6Diversity

4.2.7The Sociology of Personal Life

4.2.8Government Policies Post-WW2

4.2.9End of Topic Test - Changing Patterns

4.3The Symmetrical Family

4.3.1The Symmetrical Family

4.3.2Evaluation

4.4Children & Childhood

4.4.1Childhood

4.4.2Childhood in the UK

4.4.3Childhood as a Social Construct

4.4.4The Disappearance of Childhood

4.4.5Child Abuse

4.4.6Domestic Violence

4.4.7End of Topic Test - Family & Childhood

4.5Demographic Trends UK

4.5.1Introduction

4.5.2Birth Rates

4.5.3Death Rates

4.5.4The Ageing Population

4.5.5Studies on the Ageing Population

4.5.6Migration

4.5.7Globalisation

4.5.8End of Topic Test - Demographics UK

5Option 1: Health

5.1Social Constructions

5.1.1The Body

5.1.2Health, Illness & Disease

5.1.3Disability

5.1.4Models of Health & Illness

5.1.5End of Topic Test - Social Constructions

5.2Social Distribution of Healthcare

5.2.1Social Class

5.2.2Gender

5.2.3Ethnicity

5.2.4Regional

5.3Provision & Access to Healthcare

5.3.1The NHS

5.3.2Inequalities in Provision

5.3.3Sociological Explanations

5.3.4Inequalities in Access

5.3.5Inequalities in Access 2

5.3.6End of Topic Test - Distribution Health

5.4Mental Health

5.4.1The Biomedical Approach

5.4.2Social Patterns

5.4.3Social Constructionist Approach

5.5The Globalised Health Industry

5.5.1The Functionalist Approach

5.5.2The Postmodernist Approach

5.5.3The Globalised Health Industry

5.5.4End of Topic Test - Mental Health & Globalisation

6Option 1: Work, Poverty & Welfare

6.1Poverty & Wealth

6.1.1Types of Poverty

6.1.2Types of Poverty 2

6.1.3Distribution of Wealth UK

6.1.4Sociological Theories

6.1.5Sociological Theories 2

6.1.6Distribution of Poverty UK

6.1.7End of Topic Test - Poverty & Wealth

6.2Welfare

6.2.1The Welfare State

6.2.2Theoretical Approaches to Welfare

6.3Labour Process

6.3.1Nature of Work

6.3.2Technology & Control

6.3.3Work & Life

6.3.4The Effects of Globalisation

6.3.5Globalisation & Worklessness

6.3.6End of Topic Test - Welfare & Labour

7Option 2: Beliefs in Society

7.1Ideology, Science & Religion

7.1.1Types of Religion

7.1.2Ideology & Belief Systems

7.1.3Social Stability & Religion

7.1.4Social Change & Religion

7.1.5End of Topic Test - Ideology, Science & Religion

7.2Religious Movements

7.2.1Religious Organisations

7.2.2New Religious Movements

7.2.3New Age Movements

7.2.4Practice Exam Question - Growth of NRMs

7.3Society & Religion

7.3.1Social Groups & Religion

7.3.2Gender & Religion

7.3.3End of Topic Test- Religious Movements & Society

7.4Contemporary Religion

7.4.1Secularisation UK

7.4.2Against Secularisation

7.4.3Secularisation US

7.4.4Fundamentalism

7.4.5Economic Development & Religion

7.4.6End of Topic - Contemporary Religion

8Option 2: Global Development

8.1Development, Underdevelopment & Global Inequality

8.1.1Development

8.1.2Underdevelopment & Global Inequality

8.2Globalisation & Global Organisations

8.2.1Globalisation

8.2.2Transnational Corporations & International Agency

8.2.3Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs)

8.3Aid, Trade, Industrialisation, Urbanisation

8.3.1Development: Aid & Trade

8.3.2Development: Industrialisation & Urbanisation

8.3.3Development: Environment & War

9Option 2: The Media

9.1Contemporary Media

9.1.1New Media

9.1.2Control of the Media

9.1.3Sociological Approaches: New Media

9.1.4Globalisation

9.1.5News Selection

9.1.6Moral Panics

9.1.7End of Topic Test - Contemporary Media

9.2Media Representations

9.2.1Age

9.2.2Social Class & Ethnicity

9.2.3Gender

9.2.4Sexuality & Disability

9.2.5Practice Exam Questions - Presentation of Women

9.3Audiences

9.3.1Media Theories

9.3.2Media Theories 2

9.3.3Media Representations & Audiences

10Crime & Deviance

10.1Crime & Society

10.1.1Functionalism

10.1.2Subcultural Theory

10.1.3Marxism

10.1.4Realism

10.1.5Other Approaches

10.1.6End of Topic Test - Crime & Society

10.1.7Practice Exam Questions - Social Construction

10.2Social Distribution of Crime

10.2.1Ethnicity

10.2.2Gender

10.2.3Globalisation & Crime

10.2.4Media & Crime

10.2.5Types of Crimes

10.2.6End of Topic Test - Social Distribution of Crime

10.3Prevention & Punishment

10.3.1Surveillance

10.3.2Prevention

10.3.3Punishment

10.3.4Victimology

10.3.5End of Topic Test - Prevention & Punishment

Jump to other topics

1Theory & Methods

2Education with Methods in Context

2.1Role & Function of the Education System

2.1.1Introduction

2.1.2Functionalist Theories

2.1.3Marxist & Feminist Theories

2.1.4The New Right

2.2Educational Achievement

2.2.1Social Class: Internal Factors

2.2.2Social Class: External Factors

2.2.3Social Class: Attitudes to Education

2.2.4Social Class: Difference in Achievement

2.2.5Gender

2.2.6Ethnicity

2.3Relationships & Processes Within Schools

2.3.1Processes

2.3.2Labelling

2.3.3Categorisations

2.3.4Student Experience

2.3.5End of Topic Test -Education with Methods

2.4Educational Policies

2.4.1Equality

2.4.2Privatisation

2.4.3Marketisation

2.4.4Government Policies by Party

2.4.5Globalisation

2.4.6End of Topic Test- Educational Policies

2.4.7Practice Exam Question - Social Policies

3Option 1: Culture & Identity

4Option 1: Families & Households

4.1Families & Households

4.1.1Definitions

4.1.2Functionalist & New Right Perspectives

4.1.3Marxist & Feminist Perspectives

4.1.4Postmodernist Perspective

4.1.5End of Topic Test - Families & Households

4.1.6Practice Exam Question - Function of Family

4.2Changing Patterns

4.2.1Marriage

4.2.2Divorce

4.2.3LAT Relationships

4.2.4Child-Bearing

4.2.5Lone Parenthood

4.2.6Diversity

4.2.7The Sociology of Personal Life

4.2.8Government Policies Post-WW2

4.2.9End of Topic Test - Changing Patterns

4.3The Symmetrical Family

4.3.1The Symmetrical Family

4.3.2Evaluation

4.4Children & Childhood

4.4.1Childhood

4.4.2Childhood in the UK

4.4.3Childhood as a Social Construct

4.4.4The Disappearance of Childhood

4.4.5Child Abuse

4.4.6Domestic Violence

4.4.7End of Topic Test - Family & Childhood

4.5Demographic Trends UK

4.5.1Introduction

4.5.2Birth Rates

4.5.3Death Rates

4.5.4The Ageing Population

4.5.5Studies on the Ageing Population

4.5.6Migration

4.5.7Globalisation

4.5.8End of Topic Test - Demographics UK

5Option 1: Health

5.1Social Constructions

5.1.1The Body

5.1.2Health, Illness & Disease

5.1.3Disability

5.1.4Models of Health & Illness

5.1.5End of Topic Test - Social Constructions

5.2Social Distribution of Healthcare

5.2.1Social Class

5.2.2Gender

5.2.3Ethnicity

5.2.4Regional

5.3Provision & Access to Healthcare

5.3.1The NHS

5.3.2Inequalities in Provision

5.3.3Sociological Explanations

5.3.4Inequalities in Access

5.3.5Inequalities in Access 2

5.3.6End of Topic Test - Distribution Health

5.4Mental Health

5.4.1The Biomedical Approach

5.4.2Social Patterns

5.4.3Social Constructionist Approach

5.5The Globalised Health Industry

5.5.1The Functionalist Approach

5.5.2The Postmodernist Approach

5.5.3The Globalised Health Industry

5.5.4End of Topic Test - Mental Health & Globalisation

6Option 1: Work, Poverty & Welfare

6.1Poverty & Wealth

6.1.1Types of Poverty

6.1.2Types of Poverty 2

6.1.3Distribution of Wealth UK

6.1.4Sociological Theories

6.1.5Sociological Theories 2

6.1.6Distribution of Poverty UK

6.1.7End of Topic Test - Poverty & Wealth

6.2Welfare

6.2.1The Welfare State

6.2.2Theoretical Approaches to Welfare

6.3Labour Process

6.3.1Nature of Work

6.3.2Technology & Control

6.3.3Work & Life

6.3.4The Effects of Globalisation

6.3.5Globalisation & Worklessness

6.3.6End of Topic Test - Welfare & Labour

7Option 2: Beliefs in Society

7.1Ideology, Science & Religion

7.1.1Types of Religion

7.1.2Ideology & Belief Systems

7.1.3Social Stability & Religion

7.1.4Social Change & Religion

7.1.5End of Topic Test - Ideology, Science & Religion

7.2Religious Movements

7.2.1Religious Organisations

7.2.2New Religious Movements

7.2.3New Age Movements

7.2.4Practice Exam Question - Growth of NRMs

7.3Society & Religion

7.3.1Social Groups & Religion

7.3.2Gender & Religion

7.3.3End of Topic Test- Religious Movements & Society

7.4Contemporary Religion

7.4.1Secularisation UK

7.4.2Against Secularisation

7.4.3Secularisation US

7.4.4Fundamentalism

7.4.5Economic Development & Religion

7.4.6End of Topic - Contemporary Religion

8Option 2: Global Development

8.1Development, Underdevelopment & Global Inequality

8.1.1Development

8.1.2Underdevelopment & Global Inequality

8.2Globalisation & Global Organisations

8.2.1Globalisation

8.2.2Transnational Corporations & International Agency

8.2.3Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs)

8.3Aid, Trade, Industrialisation, Urbanisation

8.3.1Development: Aid & Trade

8.3.2Development: Industrialisation & Urbanisation

8.3.3Development: Environment & War

9Option 2: The Media

9.1Contemporary Media

9.1.1New Media

9.1.2Control of the Media

9.1.3Sociological Approaches: New Media

9.1.4Globalisation

9.1.5News Selection

9.1.6Moral Panics

9.1.7End of Topic Test - Contemporary Media

9.2Media Representations

9.2.1Age

9.2.2Social Class & Ethnicity

9.2.3Gender

9.2.4Sexuality & Disability

9.2.5Practice Exam Questions - Presentation of Women

9.3Audiences

9.3.1Media Theories

9.3.2Media Theories 2

9.3.3Media Representations & Audiences

10Crime & Deviance

10.1Crime & Society

10.1.1Functionalism

10.1.2Subcultural Theory

10.1.3Marxism

10.1.4Realism

10.1.5Other Approaches

10.1.6End of Topic Test - Crime & Society

10.1.7Practice Exam Questions - Social Construction

10.2Social Distribution of Crime

10.2.1Ethnicity

10.2.2Gender

10.2.3Globalisation & Crime

10.2.4Media & Crime

10.2.5Types of Crimes

10.2.6End of Topic Test - Social Distribution of Crime

10.3Prevention & Punishment

10.3.1Surveillance

10.3.2Prevention

10.3.3Punishment

10.3.4Victimology

10.3.5End of Topic Test - Prevention & Punishment

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Marriage

LAT Relationships