The Rapoports

The Rapoports

1. Believe in five types of family diversity

2. Diversity is essential

3. Britain has adopted a pluralist approach to families

4. Family diversity represents greater freedom of choice and widespread acceptance of different cultures and ways of life

5. Diversity is a response to different needs and wishes

6. Organisational diversity

   • Differences in ways family roles are organised
   • E.g. Joint conjugal roles, segregated conjugal roles, dual-wage earners

7. Cultural diversity

   • Different ultural, religious and ethnic groups have different family structures
   • e.g. African-Caribbean families - matrilineal

8. Social diversity

   • Differences in structure partly the result of income differences between households of different classes
   • Class differences in child-rearing

9. Life-stage diversity

   • e.g. newly-weds, children (NF), widowed (single-person household)

10. Generational diversity

    • Different attitudes and experiences in generations
    • e.g. Cohabitation viewed as unacceptable by 60+ but not by 20-30's