Sociology of The Family - Alternate Family Forms

Alternate Family Forms

The number of married couples raising children has decreased over the years. In Canada, married and common law couples with children under the age of 25 represented 44% of all families in 2001. This statistic has lowered since 1991, when married and common law couples raising children under the age of 25 represented 49 percent of all Canadian families. There are various family forms which are becoming increasingly popular in society.

One-Parent Families In Canada, one parent families have become popular since 1961 when only 8.4 percent of children were being raised by a single parent. In 2001, 15.6 percent of children were being raised by a single parent. The number of single parent families continue to rise, while it is four times more likely that the mother is the parent raising the child.The high percentage of mothers becoming the sole parent is sometimes due to the result of a divorce, unplanned pregnancy or the inability to find a befitting partner. Children who are raised by a single parent are commonly at a disadvantage due to the characteristics of parenting. A mother and father both make significant contributions to the development of a child, therefore one parents ability to raise a child on their own may be hindered.

Cohabitation A residence containing an unmarried couple is called cohabitation. This type of family style is becoming increasingly accepted in Canada and has increased from 8% in 1981 to 16.4% in 2001. In Sweden and Nordic communities this family form is quite common, with or without the inclusion of children. However in various Catholic regions such as Italy this is uncommon due to the religious aspects (See Catholic marriage).

Gay and Lesbian Couples Gay and Lesbian couples are categorized as same sex relationships. In 1989 Demark was the first nation allow same sex couples to get married to provide equal rights to all citizens. After this many nations began to allow same sex marriages to occur such as Canada and Spain (2005). Some states in the United States have changed their laws to allow same sex marriages but 30 states have yet to amend their laws and allow same sex marriage.

Singlehood This type of family contains a person who is not married or in a common law relationship. They share a relationship with a partner and they lead a single life style.