a. In Britain 100 years ago the family was less likely to break-up through divorce and single parent families were very rare.

Anderson ("How Much Has The Family Changed?") argues that compared with the present day, families in Britain 100 years ago:

• Did not break-up through divorce, mainly because it was not possible to legally gain a divorce unless you were male, very rich and very influential.

According to the 1851 Census, 18% of households were headed by a single parent (mainly through things like the death of a partner, separation and so forth) compared with 9% in 1981.

Return