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changing contexts

  Another aspect of mobility is the way in which some people move in

connection with their jobs. Increased mobility means that people are less

likely to live in the same area throughout their lifetime, and now tend to

live further from their relatives than previously.

13

  However, more than half of adults see their mother at least once a

week,

14

and 61 per cent of grandparents see their grandchildren

weekly.

15

Visits to relatives are most likely at weekends, due to school

and work commitments in the week.

  The distance from relatives varies with social class. People in the

professional social class were least likely to have a satisfactory network

of relatives.

16

divorce and changes in family life

17

  The divorce rate has gone up significantly in the last 30 years (62,857

divorces in 1970, 154,628 in 2001).

18

The proportion of separated and

divorced people now stands at 10.6 per cent of the population of

England and Wales.

19

In 1971, 1 per cent of men and 1 per cent of

women were divorced, but by 2000 it was 8 per cent men and 

9 per cent women.

20

Additionally, about 8 per cent of families were

stepfamilies with dependent children

21

  the parents no longer appeared

in statistics as `divorced' because they had married again. Combined

with the rise of cohabitation and the birth of children to never married

mothers, in 2001 the Census showed that 22 per cent of children in

England and Wales live in lone parent families, usually looked after by

their mother. More than 1 in 10 other children live in stepfamilies, mainly

with their mother.

22

The average age of women at the birth of their first

child has increased by 1

1

2

years since 1990 to 27 years in 2000.

23

  The number of single people has risen dramatically   because of not

marrying, or marrying later. In 1971, 24 per cent of the male population

were single, in 2000 it was 34 per cent.

24

Some of this change can be

accounted for by cohabitation but, even taking cohabitation into account,

there is a real rise in the number of single people. In particular, the

number of single men has risen from 3 per cent of households in 

1971 to 10 per cent in 2000.

25

This is due to the later age of marriage,

and the rise in separation and divorce.

  The implications of these changes in family life are that very many

families will be involved in visiting absent parents, usually fathers, often

at the weekend. This will inevitably make Sunday church attendance

problematic.

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