Assess the View That the Growth of Family Diversity Has Led to the Decline of the Traditional Nuclear Family

In the past, traditionally families have mostly been the ‘traditional nuclear family’ made up of a married man and woman and at least one child. However there has recently been a decline in the amount of traditional nuclear families and an increase in the amount of diverse families. There are now less people following the traditional view that the nuclear family is the ‘normal’ way to live. The diverse families now include families such as, lone parent families, reconstituted family, extended family, lone person households, cohabiting couples and same sex couples. In this essay I will discuss the view that the traditional nuclear family has decline as a result of the growth of family diversity and the reasons why people are no longer following past tradition. Cohabitatiion is an arrangement where two people who is not married live together in an intimate relationship, particularly an emotionally and/or sexually intimate one, on a long-term or permanent basis. Before 1970, cohabitation was illegal in certain countries e.g. America. Due to a change in the law, Cohabitation is now a common pattern among people around the world, as well as sex/birth outside of marriage, leaving at least 50% to 60% of coupless cohabitating, starting from the late 1990âs. This leads to the amount of traditional nuclear families decreasing as people want to live in companionship as nearly half the amount of marriages end in divorce, also cohabiting is an easier way as its much cheaper and doesnt cause much hassle. The New Right see the decline of the traditional nuclear family and the growth of family diversity as negative trends in modern society.
A marriage from a religious point of view was seen to be a lifelong commitment which should not have a final termination. Secularisation became more common so marriage was no longer under the control or influence of religion. Higher expectations were made when it came to marriages, not the usual expectations like fidelity and monogamy but