James Murray Sociology
To what extent is the family in Britain a declining Social Institution?
There is a growth in the number of lone parents 23% of dependent children now live in a single parent household this compares to 7% in 1972. Some would argue that this increase shows the decline of the family unit. Others argue against this citing that even among never married single mothers in 2 out of 3 cases the mother and father were cohabiting also 85% of the births were registered jointly, both parents’ names being put on the birth certificate (these statistics coming from information gathered in 2006). However the majority of lone parenthoods arise from divorce, separation or widowhood. In many of these cases apart from widowhood the absent parent, usually the father, will still play a role in the children’s life and the children will still have a sense of a family. The New Right thinkers and politicians are the most likely to suggest an increase in the number of lone parent households means the social institution of the family is declining in Britain. New Right thinkers believe the only functional family set up is the nuclear family unit and so from this point of view they would be right to think the family is in decline but it is a radical point of view and most agree that it is narrow minded and stubborn.