Examine the reasons for changes in the patterns of marriages, co-habitation and divorce in the last 45 years.
Response.
There are many factors which contributed to the attitudes people have towards marriage, co-habitation and divorce over the last 45 years, some of which are:.
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• Diversity.
• Secularization .
• Law .
The law plays a huge role in the increase of divorce over the last 45 years, when divorce was first introduced in the 18th century, it was only obtainable by wealthy men and it was practically impossible for women to obtain as they had to provide proof of their husbands breaking any matrimonial laws. In the early 19th century the grounds for divorce became equal for men and women however women were still less likely to apply for divorce not only because of the expense of divorce but also because they were financially dependent on the man. However this drastically changed over the period of a few years, between 1959 and 2005, the proportion of women in work rose by 23% from 47% to 70% although the majority of women are still paid less than men, anti discrimination laws and higher education of women meant that the gap between women and men pay is reduced. Allan and Crow suggested that "marriage is less embedded within the economic system," and the removal of the bread winner role means that women no longer depend on men for income therefor are less likely to remain in unhappy relationships. On the other hand Functionalists argue that although there is a high rate in divorce it doesn't necessarily mean that the importance of marriage is depleting, in fact there's a high rate of re-marriages which indicates that people still value lawful matrimony and are not giving up on marriage.
