Changing Nature of the Family over Past 50 Years
Changing nature of family over the last 50 years.-
In many industrialized countries, people are increasingly turning away from traditional family patterns. They are adopting new roles for family members and various kinds of family structures. Many of these changes reflect scientific, economic, and social developments and changing attitudes. For example, modern birth control methods enable couples to limit the size of their family and to space their children. Many young people are postponing marriageand childbearing, and many couples want to have fewer children than people had in the past.
The number of employed married women has been growing dramatically in industrialized countries. In the United States, for example, the percentage of married women who work outside the home has risen from about 15 per cent in 1940 to about 55 per cent today. This increase has led to many changes in family life. It has contributed to the ideal of the equalitarian family, in which each member is respected and neither parent tries to be the head of the family.
Divorce has become more and more common. In the United States, statistics indicate that about half the marriages that took place during the 1970's are likely to end in divorce. In the United Kingdom, the divorce rate more than trebled between 1968 and 1987. But divorced people often remarry. This fact suggests that many divorced people have not given up on family life. Instead, they believe they can find happiness in marriage with a new partner.
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Social conditions can affect family life in many ways. For example, black men have sometimes been discriminated against in getting well-paying jobs in some countries. Thus, black wives have been more likely than white wives to work outside the home in those countries, to help support the family. As a result, many of those black wives have tended to have more authority in family affairs than have the white wives.
Almost every family has problems as a normal part of living
In many industrialized countries, people are increasingly turning away from traditional family patterns. They are adopting new roles for family members and various kinds of family structures. Many of these changes reflect scientific, economic, and social developments and changing attitudes. For example, modern birth control methods enable couples to limit the size of their family and to space their children. Many young people are postponing marriageand childbearing, and many couples want to have fewer children than people had in the past.
The number of employed married women has been growing dramatically in industrialized countries. In the United States, for example, the percentage of married women who work outside the home has risen from about 15 per cent in 1940 to about 55 per cent today. This increase has led to many changes in family life. It has contributed to the ideal of the equalitarian family, in which each member is respected and neither parent tries to be the head of the family.
Divorce has become more and more common. In the United States, statistics indicate that about half the marriages that took place during the 1970's are likely to end in divorce. In the United Kingdom, the divorce rate more than trebled between 1968 and 1987. But divorced people often remarry. This fact suggests that many divorced people have not given up on family life. Instead, they believe they can find happiness in marriage with a new partner.
.
Social conditions can affect family life in many ways. For example, black men have sometimes been discriminated against in getting well-paying jobs in some countries. Thus, black wives have been more likely than white wives to work outside the home in those countries, to help support the family. As a result, many of those black wives have tended to have more authority in family affairs than have the white wives.
Almost every family has problems as a normal part of living