| Answers to the WJEC Sociology Unit 1 2023 exam that received 5/5 and 10/10
| Includes references to the words highlighted by the examiner when rewarding marks
| 5 marker - "explain the meaning of the term reconstituted family"
| 10 marker - "explain two sociological reasons for the decline...
Explain the meaning of the term reconstituted family [5]
A reconstituted family is a family consisting of biological family as well as
other family members such as stepbrothers that have joined the family
through marriage. The number of reconstituted families is rising, as
around 10% of all families with children in the UK are reconstituted. This is
due to things such as an increase in the number of children born out of
wedlock and increasing divorce rates. Postmodernists believe that the
increase in reconstituted families is a good thing as it increases the diversity
and freedom of families. However, functionalists and the New Right would
claim it is a bad thing as nuclear families are the only family structure that
benefit all of their members through socialisation.
Explain two sociological reasons for the decline in people choosing to marry
[10]
The first reason why there is a decline in people choosing to marry is
because people are marrying at a delayed rate. Due to things such as
careers being more of a priority, especially for women, in modern society,
people are not prioritising marriage as much as they used to. The average
age of first marriage rose 7 years between 1971 and 2005, showing that
people are waiting to get married after they have already achieved a
successful career. Feminist sociologists would argue that this is a good thing
as women no longer feel that their only role in society is having a family and
performing domestic chores.
Another reason why the number of people choosing to marry is declining is
because of the increase in cohabitation linked to secularisation. A quarter
of unmarried adults in contemporary society are cohabiting, implying that
people are choosing cohabitation as a less permanent and cheaper
alternative to marriage. It can be argued that this is also due to
secularisation, as the 2001 Census showed that people are more likely to
cohabit if they do not follow a religion compared to those who do. This is
disliked by New Right sociologists such as Dennis and Erdos, who would
argue that children brought up in non-nuclear families are inadequately
socialised and will be subjected to poorer health and lower educational
attainment.
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