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Sociology - Family Essay

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In this essay I will examine the reasons for the changes in the birth rate and family size since 1900.
Since the 1900 there have been changes in the state polices, changes in attitudes and changes in our living standards which have led to unbalanced changes in birth rates and family size. Firstly in the early 1900’s there was no health service and a poor quality of life and there had been an industrial revolution know has industrialization which had meant that many workers and their families had left their homes and extended families to live in houses that were crammed together along narrow streets, poorly built, and incredibly crowded. Whole families were packed into attics, cellars, or single rooms which caused many diseases. This had …show more content…

This caused controversy between religion and social trends, as Catholics are strictly against abortion and believe that children are a “God’s Gift” and there was still a social stigma surrounding abortion & contraception yet in recent years there has been a decline in religion so it’s become socially acpectable. A few sociologists are led to believe that feminism is the main cause of decline in the birth rate and family size in recent years and fail to acknowledge cultural differences and ethnic diversity. For example studies have shown Afro-Caribbean’s that have migrated to the UK, prefer not to live with men which has led to a slight increase in lone parent households & south Asian families tend to have bigger families (extended family) and tend to get married earlier then white people which means they are far more likely to have children at an earlier age the British white.
In conclusion there are many reasons for both the increase and decrease of birth rates and family size and there is just a single reason behind the complete changes from 1900 to present. As the as the mode of production changed so did people’s attitudes, state policies & living standards which have caused both the increase & decrease of

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