Changes in Family Structures (WJEC Eduqas GCSE Sociology): Revision Note

Family diversity has increased since the mid-1970s, including:

• a decrease in children living in nuclear families headed by a married couple, although this is still the most common family type

  • Married couple families made up 65.3% of families in the UK in 2025, and civil partner couples 1.1% (ONS, 2026)

• an increase in children living in families headed by a cohabiting couple

  • 16.2% of children in England and Wales lived with a cohabiting couple in 2021, compared with 14.2% in 2011

• an increase in single-person households

• an increase in families headed by a same-sex couple

Economic factors mean that both parents have paid employment, and they both pursue an independent career

Also known as a neo-conventional or dual-breadwinner family with a symmetrical division of labour

They have increased due to the increasing proportion of married or cohabiting women in employment

Women may experience role conflict if the demands of their roles as parent and employee/employer clash

They have decreased in England and Wales from 631,000 to 544,000 between 2001 and 2011 (ONS, 2012) because:

• the average age of women having their first baby is increasing, so older couples are more likely to stay together, reducing the chances of incorporating step-children into the family

• lone parents tend to have 'live apart together' relationships, which do not count as blended families in the census data

In 2021, there were 547,000 step-families with dependent children in England and Wales, about the same as in 2011, although the share of dependent children living in step-families fell from 9.7% in 2011 to 8.8% (Census 2021)

A lone-parent family is where one parent lives with their child or children without a partner present

Most are matrifocal, meaning they are headed by the mother

Trends in lone-parent families are shifting

• 16.0% of families in the UK in 2025 were lone-parent families (3.2 million)

• In 2025, 84.6% of lone-parent families were headed by a mother

• Children living with a lone parent are almost twice as likely to be in poverty: in 2024/25, 41% of children in lone-parent families in the UK were in relative poverty after housing costs, compared with 23% in couple families (DWP)

Increase in divorce and separation

• Divorce and separation are the leading causes of lone-parent families

• More recently, the number of never-married women having children has also increased

Changes in social norms

• The stigma once attached to having children outside marriage has significantly declined

• In the past, lone-parent families often arose due to the death of a parent, but this is now far less common

Female-headed households

• Women are often seen as more suited to the expressive or nurturing role, making them more likely to receive custody in divorce cases

• Men are generally less willing to give up work to raise children

Single by choice

• Some women choose to have and raise children without a partner

• Cashmore (1985) found that some working-class mothers, particularly those with limited earning power, opted to live on benefits rather than with a partner who might offer little support

New Right perspective

• Murray (1984) argues that the rise in lone-parent families is due to an over-generous welfare state, which he claims rewards 'irresponsible' behaviour, such as having children outside marriage

• The New Right believes that reducing welfare benefits would restore the traditional nuclear family and reduce lone parenthood

Feminist critique of the New Right

• Feminists argue that the New Right blames women rather than recognising the failure of many men to provide financial or emotional support

• Welfare benefits are not overly generous—most single mothers are in low-paid jobs or seeking work

The average size of the British family has declined, according to figures from the Office for National Statistics

Fertility rates have declined since the 20th century

• The average number of children per woman in England and Wales fell from 2.93 in 1964 to 1.63 in 2001, before rising to 1.94 in 2010

• In 2025, the fertility rate fell again to 1.39 children per woman

Increasing numbers of women remain childless

• 1941 cohort: 17.9% of women were childless at age 30

• 1995 cohort: 59.0% of women were childless at age 30

• This mainly reflects women delaying having children: only 15.7% of women born in 1979 had no children by the end of their childbearing years, though some childlessness is voluntary

Economic factors

• During the 19th century, parents relied on their children's income so tended to have larger families

• There is no longer a financial incentive to have children – in fact, the opposite is true

• According to the Child Poverty Action Group (2025), it costs about £250,000 for a couple to raise a child to age 18, including housing and childcare

• Many people now choose to have fewer children so they can maintain their desired standard of living, e.g. being able to go on holiday or eat out regularly

Changing position of women

• Many women no longer see having children and being a mother as their main or only role in life

• Legal and social changes have given women far more opportunities in education and employment than they had just a few decades ago

• As a result, more women are focusing on building their careers and may choose to delay marriage and motherhood, or decide not to have children at all

Secularisation

• The decline in religious influence has weakened the traditional belief that marriage and childbearing must go hand in hand

  • E.g. Christianity teaches that the main purpose of marriage is to have children, and the Catholic Church still opposes contraception

• However, increased secularisation means that fewer people today follow these teachings

• Some couples may even marry with a mutual agreement not to have children

Technological factors

• Advances in technology have had a major impact on women’s fertility and family size

• Key developments include:

  • the introduction of the contraceptive pill in the 1960s

  • greater ability to decide whether and when to become pregnant

  • the legalisation of abortion (1967), giving women more control over reproduction

• These changes have enabled women to plan their families and limit the number of children they have

Contemporary factors

• More recent influences on fertility and family size include:

  • rising childcare costs

  • the housing crisis

  • limited access to IVF on the NHS

  • the cost of living crisis

  • low-paid and insecure employment

  • concerns about the climate crisis and the future of the planet

Functionalist perspective

• Functionalists argue that while the structure of families is changing, the function of raising and socialising children remains central

• They see delayed childbearing and smaller family sizes as rational adaptations to modern economic demands

Feminist perspective

• Feminists view changes in childbearing as empowering for women, allowing them to achieve independence and career success

• They see reduced pressure to marry and have children as a positive shift away from patriarchal expectations

Postmodern and personal life perspectives

• These perspectives highlight individual choice and diversity, arguing that family size decisions are shaped by personal goals, lifestyle preferences and changing social norms rather than fixed traditions