Greenwich University

SOCIOLOGY B
MISS HUSNA ALAM
What is the Main Reason For Divorce In Modern
Industrial Societies?

Divorce is the legal termination of a marriage by a court. Falling marriage

rates and rising divorce rates reflect the fact that we are part of a consumer
society where personal choice is central to life. The end of the nuclear
family ideology is considered good, and postmodernists tend to reject the
idea that the traditionally married nuclear family is better than other forms
of family, so these tendencies have no meaning for the individual or
society.

People still value marriage, but changes in social structures make it harder
to start and maintain stable relationships - greater gender equality means
it's harder to please both sides, and having the two of you do paid work
doesn't help. communication is necessary to maintain a relationship or to
bring people together in the first place. People are now delaying marriage
not only because they need to set up a career first, but also because of
rising mortgage and marriage costs, and because of the growing fear of
divorce - with cohabiting before marriage being the new normal. New
institutions are also emerging to help us deal with the insecurities of
modern relationships – marriage counseling and prenuptial agreement are
two of the most obvious. In short, marriage isn't going away as an
institution, but it's not an easy path to follow either.

 Perhaps the most fundamental thing is that people's attitudes toward

marriage have changed. The idea that marriage is a necessary
tradition or a sacred obligation has greatly diminished, and marriage
is now seen as an option.This leads to a greater diversity of families
and households.

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  Despite the decline in marriage, most people continue to be 'partners'
– cohabitation has increased.
 Cohabiting couples are more likely to break up, so relationships
become more volatile. A related factor here is that serial monogamy,
rather than complete lifelong cohabitation, seems to be the new
norm.
 High divorce rates create more single-person and single-person
households, as well as more mixed families.
Finally, the decline of marriage should not be overstated – most
households are still headed by a couple. Joseph F. Fletcher (1966) argues
that people today have very high expectations of marriage. When these
expectations are not met, they file for divorce. Functionalists also argue
that the family has lost its function. The survival of the individual does not
depend on his family ties, so there is a looser bond between the partners.
This facilitates the breakdown of marriages (Dennis, 1975).

The cause and effect of divorce at the individual level is a matter of

psychology rather than sociology. Sociologists are more interested in how
rising divorce rates affect the beliefs, culture, and value systems of society
at large.

The consequences of divorce vary widely depending on the personal

experiences of those involved in the breakdown of marriages.
References:
https://revisesociology.com/2015/03/28/the-consequences-of-declining-marriage-and-
increasing-divorce-mind-map/
https://www.studysmarter.co.uk/explanations/social-studies/families-and-households/changing-
patterns-of-divorce-sociology/
Fig. 1 - Office for National Statistics (2020, November 17). Divorces in England and Wales:
2019. https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/
divorce/bulletins/divorcesinenglandandwales/2019#:~:text=There%20were
%20107%2C599%20opposite%2Dsex,granted%20in%20England%20and%20Wales.