There can also be a disadvantage to this, if both parents are working then the child or children have to be left by themselves. On the whole, in my opinion, a nuclear family is very stable and is the preferred family overall, with many advantages and only very few disadvantages. Robert Chester (1985) argues that, despite what the critics of the nuclear family may argue, most people spend at least part of their life within this type of family structure.
There are also many advantages to being in a reconstituted family, also known as step family. One of these is; the ex lone parent may now be happier as they have changed partner, the reasons for the separation may have been due to abuse or unhappiness and now that the ex lone parent has found someone new this makes the ex lone parent happy. They get a second chance of being a family. An advantage can also relate to the one from a nuclear family. The child gets support from both parent figures, even though it’s not their birth parent, they can sometimes been seen as this. There are also disadvantages to a reconstituted family, some of these are; children may feel jealous of the new parent and compete for the birth parent’s attention. The children can also feel resentment towards the step parent of vice versa; this can complicate a lot the relationship and sometimes even destroy it. There is also homosexuality involved in families. These are same-sex families and can have also both its advantages and disadvantages. Parents in same-sex families usually get a wider choice of family members in their family. They get the opportunity to pick who will be part of the family, through adoption or sperm donors. It has become much more acceptable in the UK as from before which it was looked down upon. On the other hand some may argue that children won’t have much stability as they will not have either a female or male figure whilst growing up. Overall research, Fitzgerald 1999, has shown that children raised by gay or lesbian parents are no different to those raised by heterosexuals. The evidence suggests that what matters is the relationship between the child and its parents and not their sexuality. All these things determine family diversity and is all very common in Britain.
Within these types of families, there are also other things that categorise these families, one being social class. Social class can have a large impact of a family’s life. This has an effect on life chances and opportunities. People say that families living in a lower class have more financial problems and this could lead to breakdown in the family. People living in an upper class family are very stable financially which minimise problems as this is something they do not have to concern about. The difference in standard of living is also very high. These can also lead to problems and cause couples to separate. For example, if a couple do not have the standard of living for both of them they may choose to split up in order for them to go separate ways and get a better standard of living. Another thing that also determines family diversity is ethnic diversity. Research shows that Asian families tend to have a higher rate of extended families than anywhere else. They are also mainly nuclear as divorce rates are very low in Asian families because this is something wrong. Cohabitation is usually unheard of and this is something they believe is disrespectful. Whereas Afro-Caribbean families have a higher rate of single parents families. At least 50% of Afro-Caribbean families are lone parent families. It helps that there are many more kinship networks. All these things also contribute to reasons why there is family diversity. There are many advantages to having a multicultural as it brings a wider knowledge of cultures within the family instead of knowing of just one. It also helps in the whole concept of being diverse. The down side to multicultural families is that different cultures have different traditions and regimes which some people just can’t handle and this can cause a breakdown in the family but if two people truly want to be together then they can overcome all the problems that culture brings.
In conclusion, there are many different reasons to why there is family diversity and there is no main reason to it, it consists of many different things, and many more which have yet to be discovered.
