Sociology Report: Analysis of Marriage Breakdown in Australia

This report presents a comparative analysis of two articles focusing on marriage breakdown and divorce. The first article, "Marriage breakdown in Australia: The social correlates of separation and divorce" by Hewitt, Baxter, and Western (2005), examines the increasing divorce rates in Australia and identifies social factors associated with marital breakdown, utilizing data from the HILDA survey. The key findings highlight the influence of ethnicity and fertility measures on marital stability. The second article, "Divorce and changing family practices in a post-traditional society" by Smart (2000), explores how families navigate post-divorce arrangements, particularly regarding parenting, within the context of contemporary British society. It challenges the negative perception of divorce, suggesting it can reflect changes in moral practices. The report highlights the key concepts, methodologies, and critical points of each article, offering insights into the complexities of marriage breakdown and evolving family dynamics.

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The divorce rates and the breakdown of marriages have been increasing lately throughout the
world.
The points of interest in “Marriage breakdown in Australia: The social correlates of separation
and divorce”, by Hewitt, Baxter and Western (2005) is the pervasive feature of the Australian
society including the breakdown of marriage through divorce and separation. There has been an
increased rate of divorce in Australia over the last centuries. On the other hand, the points of
interest in “Divorce and changing family practices in a post-traditional society” by Smart (2000)
is how families in the current era encounter a diverse experience regarding the achievement of
satisfactory post-divorce arrangements regarding their parenting. This research has been done on
the grounds of the contemporary family life of Britain.
The key concepts or the theories that have been used in the article “Marriage breakdown in
Australia: The social correlates of separation and divorce”, by Hewitt, Baxter and Western
(2005) includes an analytical sample of the married respondents. The research used retrospective
histories of marriage for constructing dependent marital breakdown. On the other hand, the key
concepts or the theoretical approach of the article “Divorce and changing family practices in a
post-traditional society” by Smart (2000) lies on the explanation with the findings of three
related studies. The research highlighted parents and moral reasoning, which is the process of re-
embedding. The research highlighted the importance of orienteering for children and parents.
The critical points of the article “Marriage breakdown in Australia: The social correlates of
separation and divorce”, by Hewitt, Baxter and Western (2005) are that women born overseas at
the English speaking countries had 42 % higher rate of marital breakdowns that those born in
Australia. The critical analysis or the discussion of the research study illustrates that there lies no
significant association among marital breakdown and ethnicity. According to the results of the
study, fertility measures and the depth of relationships are strongly connected with the risk
towards marital breakdown for both men and women. The critical points of the article “Divorce
and changing family practices in a post-traditional society” by Smart (2000) is that divorce rate
is being seen as the symbol for change regrading the worse in all the matters that relate to
intimacy and family. The article explored the perspective that is blinkered to the possibility of

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regarding divorce that might reflect changes towards the moral practices rather than the ethical
decisions.
References
Hewitt, B., Baxter, J. and Western, M., 2005. Marriage breakdown in Australia: The social
correlates of separation and divorce. Journal of Sociology, 41(2), pp.163-183.
Smart, C., 2000. Divorce and changing family practices in a post-traditional society. Family
Matters, 56, pp.10-19.