AQA A-level Sociology (7192): Paper 2 – Families and households – Practice Questions

These are original questions written for Marlbridge, for revision and practice on this content. They are not reproduced past-paper questions, and they do not replicate the exam’s exact structure, question count or mark tariffs – examination boards hold copyright in their own papers. Use these alongside the official past papers from your board or school.

These questions cover Families and Households for AQA A-level Sociology (7192), from the AQA AS and A-level Sociology (7191, 7192) specification, Version 1.2 (14 October 2021). The topic is section 4.2.2 of the A-level content (also listed as 3.2.2 in the specification-at-a-glance) and is assessed in Paper 2: Topics in Sociology, Section A, as one of the four option 1 topics. All data and places in the questions are fictional.

Revise first with the study guide and the revision notes. For the whole course, see the AQA A-level Sociology hub and the 7192 checklist.

Questions

1. Explain what is meant by the “beanpole family”. [2]

2. Identify three laws or legal agreements since 1900 that have changed the status of children in the UK. [3]

3. Explain two reasons why the number of divorces in England and Wales rose after 1971. [4]

4. A fictional survey of 300 heterosexual couples in the town of Brackenford recorded mean hours of housework per week.

Household type	Couples	Women (hours)	Men (hours)
Both partners full-time	120	13	8
Woman part-time, man full-time	110	19	6
Man is the only earner	70	27	4

(a) Calculate the gap between women’s and men’s hours for each household type, and identify the type with the smallest gap. [2] (b) Explain how far the data support material explanations of the domestic division of labour. [4]

5. Read the scenario.

Rhiannon, 34, lives alone. She describes her “real family” as her two closest friends, her late grandmother, her former stepfather (whom she still visits every Sunday) and a half-sister she met only last year through a DNA-testing website.

Using the sociology of personal life, explain how a sociologist might interpret Rhiannon’s view of her family. [6]

6. Outline two criticisms of the view that childhood is a modern invention. [4]

7. The fictional country of Norvale published these population figures (millions).

Year	Under 16	16-64	65 and over
2000	18	40	9
2040 (projected)	15	39	16

(a) Calculate the total dependency ratio (dependants per 100 people aged 16-64) for 2000 and for 2040. [2] (b) Explain two likely consequences of this change for family life in Norvale. [4]

8. A student in the fictional town of Brackenford says: “People live longer than in 1900 only because doctors got better.” Explain three factors, including at least one that is not medical, that help account for the fall in the UK death rate since 1900. [6]

9. Read the item.

In the fictional country of Valdoria, the government has introduced a tax allowance for married couples, free nursery places from age two, and a rule that only the higher earner in a couple can claim child-related benefits.

Using the item and your knowledge, analyse two likely effects of Valdoria’s policies on who lives together and how partners share money and care. [10]

10. Evaluate the view that the neo-conventional family remains the norm in the UK today. [12]

11. To what extent do feminist explanations account for power relationships within families today? [16]

Answers

1. A family with several generations alive at once [1] but few relatives in each generation, because of fewer siblings and longer lives (Brannen, 2003) [1]. [2] Examiner insight: a definition gains the second mark only when it gives both features, many generations and few people in each.

2. Any three: the Education Act 1944 gave free secondary education for all [1]; the school leaving age was raised to 16 in 1972 [1]; the Children Act 1989 [1]. Also creditworthy: the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989). [3] Examiner insight: “identify” needs only a name, but a date or brief effect avoids any doubt over which law you mean.

3. The Divorce Reform Act 1969, in force from 1971, allowed divorce for irretrievable breakdown [1], so couples no longer had to prove a matrimonial offence such as adultery, making divorce easier [1]. Women gained more financial independence through paid work [1], so they could leave an unhappy marriage without losing all income [1]. [4] Examiner insight: each reason needs an explanation of how it led to more divorce, not just a name of a cause.

4. (a) Gaps: 5 hours (both full-time), 13 hours (woman part-time), 23 hours (man only earner) [1]. The smallest gap is where both partners work full-time [1]. (b) The gap narrows as women’s paid hours rise, which fits a material explanation that the partner who earns less does more housework [1]. In dual full-time couples women still do 13 of 21 hours, about 62% [1], so equal working hours do not produce equality [1]. This suggests cultural norms about gender also matter, as Crompton and Lyonette argue [1]. [6] Examiner insight: use figures from the table in the explanation; a general account of theories without the data stays at the bottom of the range.

5. Smart’s sociology of personal life starts from the relationships people themselves find meaningful [1], so Rhiannon’s definition is valid even though she lives alone [1]. Her friends fit Weeks’ idea of chosen, non-blood ties [1]. Her late grandmother shows that relationships can continue after death through memory [1]. Her continued link to a former stepfather shows ties surviving divorce, like Stacey’s divorce-extended families [1]. Her half-sister found by DNA testing shows how genetic connection can create new kinship, as in Nordqvist and Smart’s work on donor conception [1]. [6] Examiner insight: application marks come from linking each person in the scenario to a concept, not from describing the theory in general.

6. Pollock (1983) used diaries to argue that parents in earlier centuries did see children as different and cared for them [1], so childhood existed, though in a different form [1]. Ariès relied on limited sources such as paintings [1], which may show artistic conventions rather than how children were actually treated [1]. [4] Examiner insight: each criticism needs a point and a development; two bare criticisms earn only half the marks.

7. (a) 2000: (18 + 9) / 40 x 100 = 67.5 [1]. 2040: (15 + 16) / 39 x 100 = 79.5 (to one decimal place) [1]. (b) The number aged 65 and over rises from 9 to 16 million [1], so more adult children, often daughters, may provide unpaid care for older parents [1]. Fewer children and longer lives may produce beanpole families [1], with grandparents more available to provide childcare [1]. [6] Examiner insight: show the working for a ratio so your method is clear, and state what the ratio means in words.

8. Improved nutrition raised resistance to infection, as McKeown (1976) argued [1], reducing deaths from diseases such as tuberculosis [1]. Public health measures such as clean water, sewers and better housing [1] cut the spread of infectious disease [1]. Medical advances and the NHS from 1948 [1] widened access to vaccination and treatment [1]. [6] Examiner insight: “explain” needs each factor linked to how it reduced deaths, and here a non-medical factor, not a list of three causes.

Questions 9 to 11 are extended answers. The real exam marks these with levels of response, not point by point; the points below show indicative content only.

9. Effect 1, marriage incentives. The tax allowance rewards marriage [1], which may encourage couples to marry rather than cohabit [1]. The New Right would support this as strengthening the conventional family [1]. Critics argue it penalises lone parents and cohabiting couples [1], so policy can reduce the acceptance of diversity [1]. Effect 2, care and gender roles. Free nursery places from age two make it easier for both parents to work [1], supporting a neo-conventional, dual-earner family [1]. But giving benefits only to the higher earner may give men more control of money [1], which links to Pahl’s work on financial power [1]. Feminists would argue that such rules assume a male breadwinner and reinforce women’s dependence [1]. [10] Examiner insight: the item gives three policies; the best answers use at least two and analyse their effects, not just describe them.

10. Indicative content: Chester (1985) argues most people live in a nuclear family at some stage of the life course [1]. Snapshot statistics overstate diversity because people pass through stages [1]. The neo-conventional family is dual-earner, reflecting women’s employment [1]. Against this, the Rapoports identify five types of diversity [1], including cultural and class differences [1]. Rising cohabitation, divorce and lone parenthood suggest the nuclear family is less dominant [1]. Same-sex marriage since 2013 shows legal recognition of new forms [1]. Postmodernists such as Stacey argue there is no dominant type [1]. Giddens’ pure relationship suggests relationships are chosen and fragile [1]. Critics reply that postmodernists exaggerate choice [1]. Smart’s personal life approach questions whether household type is the right measure at all [1]. Judgement: the neo-conventional family is common over the life course, but it is no longer the only accepted form [1]. [12] Examiner insight: a judgement that weighs Chester against the Rapoports gains more than one that simply lists diverse family types.

11. Indicative content: Liberal feminists see gradual progress towards equality [1], supported by Gershuny’s lagged adaptation [1]. Radical feminists argue the family is patriarchal [1], and Delphy and Leonard (1992) see it as a unit in which men exploit women’s labour [1]. Marxist feminists argue women’s unpaid work benefits capitalism [1]. Oakley (1974) found housework remained women’s responsibility [1]. Duncombe and Marsden (1995) add emotion work as a triple shift [1]. Edgell (1980) found husbands had the final say on very important decisions [1]. Pahl (1989) showed control of money can be unequal [1]. Dobash and Dobash (1979) link domestic violence to patriarchal power [1]. Against feminism, functionalists see roles as complementary rather than exploitative [1]. Wilkinson (1996) links domestic violence to stress from inequality, not only patriarchy [1]. Dunne (1999) found more equal sharing in lesbian couples, showing gender scripts can change [1]. Personal life and postmodern views stress individual negotiation [1]. Feminists may overlook differences by class and ethnicity [1]. Judgement: feminist explanations account well for persistent inequality, but less well for variation and change [1]. [16] Examiner insight: the higher levels need several feminist strands compared with each other, not one “feminist view” set against everyone else.

Where marks are usually lost

• Not using the figures in data questions, or misreading which column refers to women and men.
• Defining a term with one feature when two are needed.
• Treating “explain” questions as lists, with no link from cause to effect.
• Ignoring parts of the item or scenario that point to specific concepts.
• Describing theories in turn without comparing them.
• Writing “feminists say” as if all feminists agree.
• Giving one side of contested policy debates.
• Ending extended answers with a summary rather than a weighed judgement.

Next steps

• Re-read the study guide for any question where you scored under half marks.
• Practise methods links with Methods in Context practice.
• Compare skills across topics with Education practice and Crime and Deviance practice.
• Find gaps quickly with our diagnostics.
• Book a free trial class with a Marlbridge sociology teacher.

Official syllabus

AQA AS and A-level Sociology (7191, 7192) specification, Version 1.2 (14 October 2021), section 4.2.2 Families and Households, assessed in Paper 2: Topics in Sociology.