1. Examine the ways in which government policies and laws affect the nature
and extent of family diversity.
Social policy has made families more diverse but some people may disagree.
Social policies are the laws made by government that try to stop social issues
within the family. And example of this is in China and there one child policy, if
they have more than one child the government have put penalties in, they have
created this policy to stop the social issue of an increasingly large population of
china. Sociologists are interested on finding out if social policies are making
families more diverse. They question they ask is “has social policy caused more
families to be non-nuclear families?
Families have become more diverse by the increase of same sex families. Same
sex families are lesbian and gay couples living with children. The social policies
linked to the increase of same sex families are; in 1967 male homosexuality
was legalised so it was more socially accepted, in 2004 the Civil
Partnership Act was created and in 2005 civil partnerships were passed, in
2013 the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act was created which led to gay
marriage in 2014. These laws allowed gay people to start a family. Same sex
families are even more accepted since in 2002 the UK adoption laws were
changed, these changes meant that gay couple were now allowed to adopt
children meaning that they could have a family of their own. All these laws could
be linked to the growth of same sex families.
Feminists suggest that many laws in society are unequal and cruel to women and
fight for all women to have equal rights. Before civil partnerships homosexual
women were allowed the same rights as heterosexual women showing evidence
of patriarchy. However, some disagree with changes for example New Right
believe that the nuclear family is needed for the correct socialisation of children
and that male and female role models are required for children to become
functional adults. New Right reject other family types such as same sex families
as they damage children’s upbringing. On the other hand New right are often
criticised for sexist and outdated views, as they believe in traditional conjugal
roles.
The increase in lone parent families has occurred due to social policies For
example, in 1971 the divorce reform act was created that states divorce can
occur when there is “irretrievable breakdown of marriage” this make
divorce easier and quicker. Also legal aid was introduced which would support
women to carry out a divorce even if they don’t have the money to. This could
also be linked to the increase in reconstituted families. Furthermore, there are
now many benefits that have been introduced for single parents to financially
support them and their children. For example: housing benefits, child benefits
and tax credits. These policies have encouraged lone parent families and family
diversity.
New Right oppose single parent families suggesting that they produce an
underclass in society. This is because they are mainly headed by women and are

2. dependent welfare. However, feminists would believe this to be sexist as it
suggests women cannot successfully bring up children without a man. They
suggest that the benefits that women receive as single parents can help them
escape domestic violence and abusive relationships. A single parent
environment could be far better for a child than a nuclear family where domestic
violence occurs by a man.
In contrast to social policy encouraging family diversity some sociologists would
believe social policy encourages the nuclear family and discourages diversity.
For example, marriage laws in the UK only allow you to marry one person,
encouraging the nuclear family. Furthermore, the coalition government want to
introduce a married person tax allowance to encourage marriage and the
nuclear family. Also the child benefit system encourages the nuclear family by
penalising single parents. As a single parent earning over £44,000 will no longer
receive the benefit whereas a couple earning £80,000 between them still will. In
conclusion, even though some policies have tried to encourage the nuclear family
the majority of social policies have caused diversity.