The fragmenting family

does it matter?

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The changes which are occurring in family life are of unprecedented magnitude and speed. The 'traditional' family, headed by a married couple, is still in the majority, but it is a shrinking majority and, because the movement away from marriage is most noticeable in younger age-groups, we can expect the process of change to intensify in the short term.Under the editorship of Miriam David, Professor and Dean of Research at the London Institute, two respected commentators examine the raw data from their different perspectives. Kathleen Kiernan, a co-director of the ESRC Centre for the Analysis of Social Exclusion (CASE) at the London School of Economics and Political Science, argues for family policies which are based on the recognition of parenthood rather than marriage. Patricia Morgan, Senior Research Fellow in the family at the IEA, asks whether any culture can survive the disintegration of the central institution which transmits the values which hold it together.