Karishma Jaddoo-PGCE 09/10
The Changes affecting the family
1. Decline in the average family size
Over the last century, the birth rate has been declining in Britain. In Mauritius, the family has
witnessed a major decline in its average size. For the past seven years, the birth rate has seriously
declined. According to the Vital and population statistics from January to June 2009 ,the number
of births recorded were 7508. This is the lowest rate since 70 years.
Live births registered and crude birth rate, Republic of Mauritius,
2008 and 20091
Number of live births
2008
Island
Crude birth rate
2009
2008
20091
Jan-Jun
Year
Jan-Jun
Year1
Island of Mauritius
Island of Rodrigues
7,958
387
15,590
782
7,508
365
15,480
770
12.7
20.8
12.5
20.4
Republic of Mauritius
8,345
16,372
7,873
16,250
12.9
12.7
Source: Population And Vital Statistics, Republic Of Mauritius, January – June 2009
Reasons for this decline:
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More effective and cheaper methods of contraception, as well a easier access to abortion.
However, having recourse to abortion is illegal in Mauritius.
Children have become an economic liability and a drain on the resources of parents.
Parents prefer to invest maximum resources on their children in secondary and tertiary
education. Thus, having fewer children allow parents to do so.
The status of women has changed and today they have less desire in child bearing and
rearing. Most women have become financially independent and career-oriented. With the
setting up of the EPZ sector in the 1970’s, many Mauritian women have entered the
working sphere.
People are less reliant on care by their children when they reach old age. They have
access to a wide range of welfare benefits.
With industrialization, there was a need for a geographically mobile labour force in most
industrial societies. This implies a workforce that can easily move to other areas for work
and promotion. This may encourage families to have fewer children.
2. Cohabitation and the decline in marriage
The family has witnessed a decline in marriage and a rise in cohabitation at the turn of the 21 st
century. Cohabitation can be defined as a couple living together before or outside marriage.
Marriage rates are declining in Britain as a result of these changes. More people are getting
married later in life, not marrying at all or divorcing and not marrying. Cohabiting couples are
now seeking official and social recognition. By the early 2000’s, the majority of people in first
marriages had lived with their partners beforehand. There has been a huge shift in public opinion
so that people no longer fear social disappearance.
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There are different types of cohabitation:
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The most common form of cohabitation in Britain and other industrial countries is the
‘trial marriage’, whereby couples live together to see if they would be able to live
together permanently.
Another type is virtually the same as marriage except that no ceremony has taken place.
The couples are committed to relationship; private promises replace traditional vows.
There is also short-term cohabitation without commitment.
Explanations for the decline in marriages and growing cohabitation:
a) The changing role of women, whose growing economic independence has given them
more freedom to choose their relationships. Feminists would argue that the decline in
marriage is a result of women being more aware that they are being exploited in the
family.
b) The growing divorce rate and the message that it is sending out to potential marriage
partners.
c) Societies are becoming more and more secular.
d) Changing social attitudes and reduced stigma. Young people are more likely to cohabit
than older people. Attitudes regarding cohabitation among youngsters have evolved.
e) Couples now have higher expectations of marriage and are more likely to experiment
cohabitation rather than getting married.
However, a lot of cohabiting relationships eventually lead to marriage. In Britain, about 60% of
first time cohabitations turn into marriages. It can be argued marriage still remains an important
social institution, even in the light of high divorce rate and previous experience of living
together.
For more information about cohabitation, refer to the following website:
http://family.jrank.org/pages/279/Cohabitation.html">Cohabitation - Trends And Patterns,
Reasons For Cohabitation, Meanings Of Cohabitation, Consequences Of Cohabitation,
Conclusion</a>
Read more: http://family.jrank.org/pages/279/Cohabitation.html#ixzz0VQRCJyPL
3. Births outside marriage
The number of children born outside marriage has been increasing dramatically; around 4 in
every 10 births in 2003 in Britain. Most are born to parents who are married but living together
in a stable relationship. This situation is arguably not all different from the nuclear family.
Divorce and remarriages
One of the most startling changes in the family in Mauritius over the last century has been the
general and dramatic increase in the number of marriages to end in a divorce. The divorce trend
is highest among those who have been married for 10-14 years for a period of 1996-2005 in
Mauritius.
Divorce is a form of marital breakdown and it refers to the legal termination of marriage. The
usual way of estimating the number of marital breakdowns is through the examination of divorce
statistics.
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Explaining the rising divorce rate
Rising divorce rates must be treated with considerable caution and assessed against changing
legal, financial and social circumstances. This may indicate that divorce is now cheaper and
easier which further enable the legal termination of many already ‘unhappy’ empty-shell
marriages rather than a real increase in marital breakdown. An increase in divorce rate can be
explained in terms of changing in the law and in the society.
1. Changes in the divorce laws in Britain
The Divorce Law Reform Act of 1969 which came into effect in 1971 brought many changes in
the divorce pattern in Britain. Before the 1969 Act, an individual wanting to divorce had to prove
his or her spouse guilty of matrimonial offence like adultery, cruelty or desertion. This often led
to major public scandals. Divorce was not granted to couples in ‘empty shell’ marriages.
However, with the 1969 Act, it no longer became necessary to prove a spouse guilty of a
matrimonial offence and divorce was granted as a result of ‘irretrievable breakdown’, that is
marriage had completely broken down. After 1971, a two years separation could demonstrate the
breakdown of a marriage and this led to a significant increase in divorces.
With the Matrimonial and Family Proceedings Act of 1984, petitioning for divorce could be
possible after one year of marriage whereas previously couples could normally divorce after
three years of marriage. The Family Law Act of 1996 brought some significant changes such as
granting a divorce after eighteen months, providing to couples marriage counseling and
agreement on child custody as well as financial arrangements. This aimed at dissuading couples
to petition for divorce. However in 2001, the compulsory counseling sessions were abandoned.
As a result of the various changes in the law, divorce rates rose drastically. It is now easier to
obtain a divorce and cheaper as well.
2. Higher expectations of marriage
People now have greater expectations of what constitute married life. Couples especially women
expect and demand far more form their relationships than their parents did in the past. Today, the
notion of romantic marriages is reinforced through mass media and this impact on the perception
of an ‘ideal’ marriage. Financial security is no longer a prerequisite for a ‘happy’ marriage and
couples rather seek companionship, understanding and emotional stability in relationships. This
implies that individuals are more likely to terminate ‘unhappy’ marriages.
3. Changing role of women
According to Browne, around three quarters of divorce petitions are presented by women. This
may suggest that more women than men are unhappy with the state of their marriage and are
more likely to take steps to end their marriages. We may imply that women’s expectations of
married life have changed during the course of the twentieth century; they are less willing to
accept a traditional housewife/mother role. Women are now more financially independent and no
longer depend on their spouses. This makes it easier for women to escape from unhappy
marriages and in the event of marriage breakdown, there is a range of welfare state benefits to
help divorced women, particularly those with children. Even in Mauritius, women have become
career-oriented and are less willing to stay in unhappy ‘empty shell’ marriages.
4. Changing social attitudes
Divorce is now considered as being socially acceptable. Nowadays, there is less social
disapproval and stigmatization of divorcees. The mores of society have changed and are more
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tolerant towards divorcees. Even in Mauritius, people are less afraid of the consequences of
divorce.
5. Growing Secularization
The process of secularization, i.e. the decline in religious belief, influence and power, has meant
that people today probably do not attach much religious significance to their marriage. The
Mauritian society too has experienced a certain degree of secularization as compared to the past.
6. Growth of privatised nuclear family
Society has witnessed a decline in the social control system exerted from extended kin pressuring
couples to retain marriages ties. Kinship networks are very influencial in Mauritius.
The lone-parent family
There are a growing number of lone-parent families, in which only one parent brings up children;
they are usually female-headed. There is a continuing argument about whether children are better
off in two-parent families. Around 25% of all families with dependent children were lone-parent.
Families in 2003 were headed by women. (Browne). There have always been lone-parent
families. In the past, both fathers and mothers were often left to raise children alone because of
the death of the partner. Today, most lone-parent families are the result of separation and divorce
rather than death. There has also been an increase in teenage motherhood in most modern
societies. These teenage girls most of the time, find themselves raising their children on their
own.
Explaining the rise in lone-parent families
A number of factors are accountable for the increase in single-parenthood. These are as follows:
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Economic independence of women – they have now greater economic independence;
they are less dependent on their husbands; they can endorse the financial responsibility of
their household.
Fewer ‘shot gun weddings’ – this implies that men may feel less responsibility to marry
women should they become pregnant. These marriages often end up in separation or
divorce.
Changing social attitudes – there is less social stigma attached to lone parenthood today.
Women are therefore less afraid of the social consequences of becoming lone parents.
According to Charles Murray, the provision of welfare state benefits to single mothers
may encourage them to remain single.
The growth in single parenthood has been seen by some as one of the major signs of the decline
of the conventional family life and marriage. In Britain, lone parents have been strongly
criticized by conservative politicians. They have been blamed for rising juvenile crime to
housing shortages, rising drug abuse, educational failure for children and general breakdown of
society.
Cross-cultural variations
There no longer seems to be one form of family by for the most popular. A wide range of family
and household types now exist in Britain. The existence of many different types of family is
called diversity. Diversity also exists in the roles people take within families as well as in the
types of family.
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Minority ethnic groups
As a result of immigration in the 1950’s and 1960’s, Britain now has a significant proportion of
Afro-Carribean and Asian population. These have added to the diversity of family life; they
constitute the ethnic minority groups. However, they all contain within themselves a diversity of
family forms. Family forms that existed in the countries of origin have been modified to meet the
new situation to live in Britain.
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South Asian families – Extended family relationships are more common in minority
ethnic groups, originating from South Asia, Pakistan, Bangladesh and India. These
families are mainly patriarchal. Divorce rates are quite low in such families because of
strong disapproval and wide support network of kin for families under stress. Arranged
marriages are still common among such communities.
African-Caribbean families – These families are often female-headed and matrifocal.
Single parenthood is higher among African-Caribbean mothers than any other ethnic
group. This may be a reflection of the cultural tradition in such communities.
The loss of Functions
Reproduction and nurturing of children: People were getting married to have children and pass
on family property. In Mauritius, many couples in the past had many children. Nowadays many
children are born outside marriage, most industrial societies have witnessed drastic increase in
single parenthood.
The family and kinship network traditionally played a major in maintaining and caring for
dependent children, such as housing, clothing and feeding. The modern nuclear family has
become less dependent on relatives for help and assistance in maintaining and caring for
children. Families have access to a wide range of welfare benefits which help them to cater for
the needs of children. The nuclear family has become more privatized. In Mauritius, young
couples are more driven towards the privatized nuclear family, as there has been a change in the
pattern of residence. Families now tend to be neo-local in the sense that couples are not expected
to move near either the husband’s or the wife’s family.
The prime function of the family still remains the primary socialization of its new members. The
family is a vital social institution whereby children learn about the norms, values and culture of
society. It also acts as a major informal social control agency where children come to accept
parental authority. However, with the increase in the number of pre-primary schools and
nurseries, this implies that the socialization function is no longer restricted to the family. Other
institutions act as functional alternatives.
Another traditional responsibility associated to the family used to be the education of children. In
Britain, before 1880, many children from working class families did not have access to proper
education. Nowadays, the education of children has been mainly taken over by the State and is
now primarily the responsibility of professional teachers rather than parents. For example, in
Mauritius, education is compulsory up to the age of sixteen. Despite all these changes, the family
still plays an important socializing and supporting role in preparing a child for school, as well as
helping him or her during school years.
The pre-industrial family in Britain was mainly a unit of production. This meant that the family
home was also the workplace, as the family produced most of the goods necessary for its own
survival. Children were learning the skills needed for working life from their parents. This
pattern was a common feature in most Mauritian families of the past. However, with
industrialization and the growth of the EPZ sector, work has been mainly based in factories and
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offices. Families are no longer subsistent and have become a unit of consumption. The skills
required for adult working life is no longer learned in the family, but rather at the place of work,
Universities or training centres.
References:
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Blundell. J, Active Sociology for GCSE, Longman.
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Browne. K, An introduction to sociology, 3rd Edition.
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Haralambos. M, Sociology, a new approach, 3rd Edition.
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Moore. S, Sociology Alive, 2nd Edition.
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Population and Vital statistics- January-June 2009
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