Scottish Government

Fran Wasoff,
Centre for Research on Families and Relationships, University of Edinburgh

Claudia Martin,
Scottish Centre for Social Research

Scottish Executive Social Research and the Nuffield Foundation

ISBN 0 7559 2656 0

This document is also available in pdf format (560k)

CONTENTS

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Demographic and policy context
About the study and the Scottish Social Attitudes Survey
marriage and cohabitation
Same sex couples
Step parents
Grandparents
Attitudes towards sexual relationships in various circumstances

CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION
Background to the family module
About the study
The Scottish Social Attitudes Survey

CHAPTER TWO MARRIAGE AND COHABITATION
Married couples: attitudes and knowledge
Unmarried couples: attitudes and knowledge
How do knowledge and attitudes vary across the population?

CHAPTER THREE SAME SEX COUPLES
Relationship breakdown
Same sex couples and parenthood
How do knowledge and attitudes vary across the population?

CHAPTER FOUR STEP PARENTS
Financial responsibilities of co-resident step-parents: knowledge and attitudes
Step parenting after relationship breakdown
How do knowledge and attitudes vary across the population?

CHAPTER FIVE GRANDPARENTS
Appreciation of grandparents

CHAPTER SIX ATTITUDES TOWARDS SEXUAL RELATIONSHIPS
Attitudes and knowledge about marriage and partnership
How do knowledge and attitudes vary across the population?

CHAPTER SEVEN CONCLUSIONS

REFERENCES

APPENDIX. THE FAMILY MODULE QUESTIONNAIRE

List of Tables and figures

Figure 1.1. Classification of respondents by educational level, sex, age, social class, marital status, income quartile and housing tenure

Table 1.1 Scottish Social Attitudes Survey 2004 Response analysis

Figure 2.1. Married and unmarried couples scenarios

Table 2.1. I would now like you to think about a married couple who have been together for 10 years. They have no children, but one of them has a much higher income than the other. They then split up. In these circumstances, do you think the partner with the lower income should be able to claim financial support from the other partner?

Table 2.2. And do you think the law does give someone the right to claim financial support in such circumstances?

Table 2.3. Think about an unmarried couple who have been together for 10 years and who have no children. One of them has a much higher income than the other. They then split up. Do you think the partner with the lower income should or should not be able to claim financial support from the other partner?

Table 2.4. And do you think the partner with the lower income does in fact have

Table 2.5. I would like you to think of an unmarried couple I who have been living together for ten years. The man dies. He worked for a company whose occupational pension pays a pension to the surviving husband or wife in the event of death. Do you think the surviving partner should or should not be entitled to receive a pension on the same basis?

Table 2.6. Now thinking of this same couple. They live in a house bought in the man's name and when he dies he leaves the property to his partner in his will. Do you think the surviving partner should or should not be exempt from having to pay inheritance tax on the property in just the same way as a married person would be?

Table 2.7. Imagine another unmarried couple without children who have been living together for ten years and live in a house bought in the man's name. Say he dies without making a will. Do you think the woman should or should not have the same rights to keep the home as she would if she had been married to the man?

Table 2.8. And do you think she does in fact have

Table 2.9. Now imagine another unmarried couple who have been living together for ten years. They have a child who needs medical treatment. Do you think the father should or should not have the same rights to make decisions about his child's medical treatment as he would if he was married to the child's mother?

Table 2.10. And do you think he does in fact have

Table 2.11. Proportion of respondents who agree that an economically weaker partner, in a long standing childless relationship that has broken down, should be able to claim financial support from the other partner, by respondent's age, gender and education level.

Table 2.12. Proportion of respondents who agree that an economically weaker partner, in a long standing childless relationship that has broken down, should be able to claim financial support from the other partner, by respondent's marital status/history and housing tenure.

Table 2.13. Proportion of respondents who agree that in a long standing childless relationship where one partner has died, the other partner should be treated in the same way as a married person in relation to staying in their home, being exempt from inheritance tax and eligibility for an occupational pension, by the respondent's education level and sex.

Figure 3.1. Same sex couples scenarios

Table 3.1. And now I would like you to think of two (men/women) who have lived together as a couple for ten years. One of them has a much higher income that the other. They then split up. Do you think the partner with the lower income should or should not be able to claim financial support from the other partner?

Table 3.2. Still thinking about these two (men/women) who have been living together for ten years as a couple. One of them owns the house they live in. Say (he/she) dies without making a will, do you think (his/her) partner should or should not have the same right to keep the home as (he/she) would if they were a married couple?

Table 3.3. And do you think the surviving partner does in fact have the same legal right to keep this home as (he/she) would if (he/she) had been married to (his/her) partner?

Table 3.4. Still thinking about these same two (men/women), say that when (he/she) died, the owner of the house left the property to (his/her) partner in (his/her) will. Do you think (his/her) partner partner should or should not be exempt from having to pay inheritance tax on the property in just the same way as a married partner would be?

Table 3.5. Still thinking about this same couple, what if the (man/woman) who died had worked for a company whose occupational pension pays a pension to a surviving husband or wife in the event of death. Do you think the (male/female) partner of this (man/woman) should or should not be entitled to receive a pension on the same basis?

Table 3.6. Now think about two (men/women), both in their early thirties, who have been living together for 5 years as a couple. Should it be possible for them to adopt a child in exactly the same way as a married couple?

Table 3.7. Proportion of respondents who agree it should be possible for a same sex couple to adopt a child in exactly the same way as a married couple, by respondent's educational level, age and sex

Figure 4.1. Step parent scenarios

Table 4.1. I would now like you to think about a child whose parents have separated and who lives with their mother. Say their mother remarries. Do you think the step-father's income should or should not be taken into account in determining how much child support the father should pay?

Table 4.2. And do you think a step-father's income does in fact get taken into account in cases like this?

Table 4.3. And do you think the step-father's income should or should not be taken into account in deciding whether the child is entitled to a means-tested student grant?

Table 4.4. Let us say the child is aged 12 and the step-father has treated the child as his own for the five years he has been living in the family. Do you think the step-father should or should not be expected to continue providing financial support for the child if his relationship with the child's mother breaks down?

Table 4.5. And do you think the law does require the step-father to provide financial support in these circumstances?

Table 4.6. And do you think in these circumstances, the step-father should or should not have a right to stay in touch with the child as a father would have?

Table 4.7. And do you think a step-father does have the same right to stay in contact with the child in these circumstances?

Figure 5.1. Grandparenting scenarios

Table 5.1. I would now like you to think about a child who no longer lives with their father. Do you think the law should or should not give the grandparents on the father's side the same rights as a father to stay in contact with the child?

Table 5.2. And do you think the grandparents do in fact have the same legal right to stay in touch with their grandchild in these circumstances?

Table 5.3. I would now like you to imagine an eight-year old child whose parents are no longer able to care for them, but whose grandparents could. Would you expect the grandparents to provide a home for this child?

Table 5.4. And do you think that grandparents are expected by law to provide a home for their grandchildren in such circumstances?

Table 5.5. Attitudes towards grandparents 1

• Grandparents have little to teach the grandchildren of today [GpsTeach].
• With so many working mothers, families need grandparents to help more and more [GpsHelp].
• Grandparents tend to interfere too much with the way their grandchildren are brought up [GpsIntfr].

Table 5.6. Attitudes towards grandparents 2

• Many parents today do not appreciate the help that grandparents give [GpsApprc].
• People today don't place enough value on the part grandparents play in family life [GpsValue].
• In most families, grandparents should be closely involved in deciding how their grandchildren are brought up. [GpsInvol]

Figure 6.1. Opinions about sexual relationships

Table 6.1. If a man and woman have sexual relations before marriage, what would your general opinion be?

Table 6.2. What if it was a boy and a girl who were both still under 16?

Table 6.3. What about a married person having sexual relations with someone other than his or her partner?

Table 6.4. What about sexual relations between two adults of the same sex?

Table 6.5. As far as you know, do unmarried couples who live together for some time have a 'common law marriage' which gives them the same legal rights as married couples?

Table 6.6. People who want children ought to get married.

Table 6.7. It is a good idea for a couple who intend to get married to live together first.

Table 6.8. Married couples make better parents than unmarried ones.

Table 6.9. Even though it might not work out for some people, marriage is still the best kind of relationship.

Table 6.10. Marriage gives couples more financial security than living together.

Table 6.11. Gay or lesbian couples should have the right to marry one another if they want to.

The views expressed in this report are those of the researcher and
do not necessarily represent those of the Department or Scottish Ministers.