Cambridge AS & A Level Sociology 9699/22 is the May/June 2026 Paper 2 (The Family), variant 2. It is an AS component worth 60 marks, it lasts 1 hour 30 minutes, and you answer four questions: all three in Section A and one essay from Section B. The biggest single answer is the 26-mark essay, a choice between the role of grandparents and gender inequality in family life. This guide goes through every question and shows what the official mark scheme gave marks for. The paper and its mark scheme are free on the Tutopiya Learning Portal.

For an overview of all four 9699 papers from this series, see A Level Sociology 9699 May/June 2026 past papers: what came up and how it was marked.

9699/22 at a glance

The rubric is: answer all questions in Section A, and either Question 4 or Question 5 in Section B.

Question	Section	Topic	Marks	How it is marked
1	A	Two changes that have increased divorce in some societies	4	Points (2 × 2)
2(a)	A	Two ways the family benefits society, for functionalists	8	Points (2 × 4)
2(b)	A	A strength and a limitation of functionalist views of the family	6	Points (2 × 3)
3(a)	A	Explain the view that parenthood has changed from the past	10	Levels
3(b)	A	One argument against that view	6	Levels
4	B (choice)	Essay: do grandparents play an important role in the family?	26	AO levels
5	B (choice)	Essay: does gender inequality still exist in family life?	26	AO levels
		Total answered (Section A + Question 4 or 5)	60

Question-by-question walkthrough

Question 1: changes that increased divorce (4 marks)

Two changes, each worth 1 mark for identifying it and 1 for describing how it has increased divorce. Changes credited:

• Divorce law reform, welfare policy and gender equality laws making divorce easier, especially for women.
• Declining stigma, so divorce is more acceptable.
• Secularisation, with less religious pressure to stay married.
• Higher expectations of marriage as a source of personal happiness.
• Women’s growing financial independence, so they don’t need to stay married for security.
• Feminism and more education making women aware of their rights.
• Individualism, so people leave a marriage that blocks their goals.
• More childless couples, who don’t stay together for the children.
• Longer life expectancy, giving more time to become dissatisfied.
• Less support and mediation from wider kin as families become more isolated.

It must be a change. Reasons people have always divorced for, such as affairs, no longer being in love or domestic violence, were marked irrelevant. So was delaying or not getting married.

Question 2(a): how the family benefits society for functionalists (8 marks)

Two ways, each worth 4 marks: the way, an explanation, relevant sociological material, and an explanation of how the material shows the benefit to society. Ways credited:

• Social control: the family polices its members’ behaviour and maintains value consensus.
• Social stability, as a building block that meets society’s functional prerequisites.
• Primary socialisation into shared norms, values, language and culture.
• Stabilising adult personalities (warm bath theory), so the breadwinner returns to work rested and productive.
• Regulating sexual activity through monogamous marriage.
• Reproducing new members so society continues.
• Socialising children into future gender roles, such as expressive and instrumental roles.
• Meeting economic needs such as food, clothes and shelter.

The mark scheme expected material such as Parsons, Murdock, the organic analogy, value consensus and warm bath theory.

• No material, no fourth mark. The explanation of the material must show how society benefits.
• Common-sense points get the first mark only. For example, kin providing healthcare or a breadwinner paying taxes is not a functionalist argument, so it earns only the identification mark.
• Only two ways count. If you write more, the best two are credited.

Question 2(b): functionalist views of the family (6 marks)

One strength and one limitation, each worth 3 marks: identify it, explain what in the functionalist approach gives it that strength or limitation, and explain why it is a strength or limitation.

• Strengths credited: recognising the family’s role in social stability and value consensus; showing the positive side of family life, unlike conflict theories; linking the family to other institutions (organic analogy); explaining gender roles as biological difference rather than inequality; explaining the rise of the nuclear family (industrialisation and the fit thesis); and drawing attention to dysfunctional families.
• Limitations credited: outdated gender roles that fit less well with family diversity and women’s changing lives; ignoring the dark side of family life; ignoring exploitation under capitalism or patriarchy; assuming the family benefits everyone when Marxists and radical feminists say it serves the ruling class or men; biological determinism about gender roles; idealising the nuclear family; and ethnocentrism.

Answer about the theory, not the family. Strengths and limitations of the nuclear family, or of its functions, were irrelevant. Stating something functionalists say without explaining why it is a strength or weakness also scored nothing.

Question 3(a): parenthood has changed (10 marks)

You explain the view that parenthood today differs from the past. Indicative points:

• Child-centred parenting focused on children’s happiness and welfare, and “gentle parenting” replacing authoritarian child-rearing.
• More surveillance and control of children through phones and apps (helicopter parenting).
• The state and other agencies taking on some parental functions.
• Parents supporting children financially for longer, such as boomerang children.
• Divorce ending “monomaternalism”, with children having a mother and a stepmother (Park).
• Dual-earner parents turning to compensatory parenting, digital parenting or other carers.
• Mothers moving from economic dependence into breadwinning, and “good motherhood” becoming more intensive.
• Fathers more involved day to day, including stay-at-home, lone-parent and “new” fathers.
• Grandparents taking on day-to-day parenting when parents are absent, for example through economic migration.
• Motherhood becoming commercialised through social media.

Watch the focus. Writing about how men’s and women’s roles in the family have changed, with no link to parenting, was held at Level 1. So were points about delaying or avoiding parenthood. Counter-arguments belong in 3(b) and earned nothing here.

What moves an answer up: Level 3 (8–10) needs two clear, developed points, both supported by material focused on parenthood. Level 2 (4–7) has one developed and one underdeveloped point. Level 1 (1–3) has one undeveloped point plus material on the general topic.

Question 3(b): one argument against (6 marks)

One argument that parenthood has not really changed. Credited lines included:

• In some societies mothers are still expected to put caring before a career.
• Hegemonic ideas of fatherhood (authoritarian, disciplinarian, breadwinner) continue.
• Child-centred parenting isn’t universal.
• State policies, such as longer maternity than paternity leave, reinforce traditional roles.
• Fathers who want more involvement face structural and cultural barriers.
• Some mothers limit fathers’ involvement because of ideals of motherhood (Allen and Hawkins).
• The core tasks of parenting, such as primary socialisation, discipline, food and shelter, are unchanged.
• Involved fathers often take the fun tasks and leave routine care to mothers.
• In some cultures extended kin still share the parenting of young children.

Only one argument counts, and the examiner credits the strongest. Writing about childhood rather than parenthood was irrelevant, and gender roles with no parenting context were capped at Level 1. Level 3 (5–6) needs one clear, developed argument with focused material; Level 2 (3–4) is clear but underdeveloped; Level 1 (1–2) is undeveloped or unclear.

Question 4 (choice): the role of grandparents (26 marks)

• For (AO1): grandparents providing childcare so both parents can work and children aren’t left with strangers; filling the “parenting gap” in countries such as China and the Philippines; enriching grandchildren’s socialisation; acting as a bridge to the family’s history and culture; staying active for longer as life expectancy rises; acting as the wise head of the family in some cultures; mediating between parents and children or acting as a confidant; and paying for school fees, uniforms and bills.
• Against (AO3): frail or immobile grandparents can’t give practical help; divorce can cut contact with grandchildren; dispersed extended families see each other less; some cultures exclude grandparents or place them in institutions; the bond weakens as grandchildren reach their teens (Furman and Buhrmester); and active older people may prefer their own social lives to childcare.
• Material named: Brannen, Ross et al., Chester, Foster, Phillipson and Downs, O’Brien and Jones, and Cherlin and Furstenberg for the view; Healey and Yarrow, Marxist feminism, and Furman and Buhrmester against. Concepts include the beanpole family, dual-earner families, third age grandparents, the grey pound, the dependency ratio, sandwich carers, elder abuse and ageism.

Question 5 (choice): gender inequality in family life (26 marks)

• For (AO1): patriarchy; gender role socialisation and segregated conjugal roles; girls having less freedom than boys; women doing more housework, childcare and emotion work regardless of class and ethnicity; men controlling financial decisions; the triple shift; daughters doing most care of elderly relatives; cultures, religions and classes that reinforce traditional roles; women seeing housework as normal; fathers taking the fun parts of childcare; women absorbing men’s frustrations, including through domestic violence; and women’s hidden work, such as arranging shopping and birthday cards.
• Against (AO3): hegemonic masculinity giving way to more inclusive forms; more female breadwinners and men taking on expressive roles; women’s higher earnings and status bringing more equal roles and decision-making; grandparents’ childcare letting both parents work; time-saving technology; women choosing the domestic role rationally; more equality in same-sex families with no gender scripts; the functionalist view that segregated roles are different rather than unequal; fading fixed ideas of motherhood and fatherhood; and girls getting the same status as boys, particularly in Western families.
• Material named: Oakley, Boulton, Ferri and Smith, Hochschild, Delphy and Leonard, Duncombe and Marsden, Greer, Craig, Edgell, Ansley, DeVault and radical or Marxist feminism for the view; Gershuny, Willmott and Young, Sullivan, Bott, Silver and Schor, Crompton, Ramos, Chester, Giddens, Kauffman, the British Social Attitudes survey, liberal feminism and postmodernism against. Concepts include the dual burden, motherhood and partnership penalties, invisible work, canalisation, the new man, joint conjugal roles and the symmetrical family.

How the 26-mark essays are marked

The mark scheme’s annotations show the split: valid points supporting the view count as AO1 and valid points against it as AO3. Examiners also mark sociological material, juxtaposed points (set side by side without being weighed) and explicit evaluation separately, so weighing the two sides earns more than listing them.

• AO1 Knowledge and understanding (8): from assertive or common-sense points (1–2) up to a range of detailed points with good use of concepts and theory or evidence (7–8).
• AO2 Interpretation and application (8): from limited or inaccurate use of material (1–2) up to a range of material accurately interpreted, well developed and consistently applied (7–8).
• AO3 Analysis and evaluation (10): incidental or assertive evaluation (1–2); an attempt at more than one side (3–4); unfocused juxtaposition (5–6); explicit but not sustained evaluation, or a descriptive account of the other side (7–8); clear, explicit and sustained evaluation (9–10).

Where the marks are on 9699/22

Type of question	Questions	Marks
Point-marked short answers	1, 2(a), 2(b)	18
Levelled “explain the view” and “argument against”	3(a), 3(b)	16
Essay: AO1 knowledge and understanding	4 or 5	8
Essay: AO2 interpretation and application	4 or 5	8
Essay: AO3 analysis and evaluation	4 or 5	10
Total		60

• Functionalism is worth 14 marks in Question 2 alone, so know Parsons and Murdock well enough to use them as material, and their critics well enough for a limitation.
• Gender runs through the paper. Questions 3(a), 3(b) and 5 all reward knowledge of changing mothering and fathering roles, as long as you keep the focus each question asks for.

How to self-mark 9699/22 with the mark scheme

1. Learn the layout. A slash or “or” separates alternative ways of making the same point; semicolons, bullets or a (1) separate different points. Content in brackets is for the examiner and isn’t required.
2. Check Question 1 for genuine changes. Strike out any timeless reason for divorce before you count marks.
3. Mark Question 2(a) in four steps per way, and check the material is functionalist and shows a benefit to society. No material means no fourth mark.
4. Check Question 2(b) is about the theory, and that each side has all three steps.
5. Level Questions 3(a) and 3(b) as a whole. Check every point is about parenthood, not just gender roles, and that 3(b) has one strong argument rather than several thin ones.
6. Give your essay three marks, one per AO. Count your points for and against, then judge whether your evaluation is explicit and sustained.
7. Log each lost mark as missing knowledge, missing material or missing evaluation.

Sit 9699/22 as a timed mock

The paper allows 90 minutes for 60 marks, about one and a half minutes per mark. A workable plan:

Block	Marks	Time
Read the paper and choose your essay	–	3 minutes
Question 1	4	5 minutes
Question 2(a)	8	10 minutes
Question 2(b)	6	8 minutes
Question 3(a)	10	13 minutes
Question 3(b)	6	8 minutes
Essay (Question 4 or 5), including a short plan	26	40 minutes
Check	–	3 minutes
Total	60	90 minutes

Choose the essay you can argue against as well as for: AO3 is the largest of the three essay marks.

Other May/June 2026 9699 papers

• 9699 Paper 12 (Socialisation, Identity and Methods of Research)
• 9699 Paper 32 (Education)
• 9699 Paper 42 (Globalisation, Media and Religion)

Practise and download

• Download 9699/22 and its mark scheme on the Learning Portal →
• All 9699 May/June 2026 papers: overview and marking patterns
• Try a free A Level Sociology quiz

Need help with a 9699 topic? Book a free trial lesson with an A Level Sociology tutor →

Frequently asked questions

What topics were on 9699 Paper 22 May/June 2026? +

Section A covered changes that have increased divorce, how the family benefits society according to functionalists, a strength and limitation of functionalist views of the family, and the view that parenthood today differs from the past. The Section B essays were on the role of grandparents and on gender inequality in family life.

How many marks is 9699/22 and how long is it? +

It is out of 60 marks and lasts 1 hour 30 minutes. You answer all three Section A questions (34 marks) and one 26-mark essay from Section B.

Why didn't affairs or falling out of love score in Question 1? +

The question asked for changes that have increased divorce. The mark scheme treated timeless reasons for divorce, such as affairs, no longer being in love or domestic violence, as irrelevant because they have always happened. Delaying or not getting married was also irrelevant.

Can I write about the strengths of the nuclear family in Question 2(b)? +

No. The question was about strengths and limitations of functionalist views of the family. Strengths or limitations of the nuclear family itself, or of its functions, were marked as irrelevant.

How is the 26-mark essay on 9699/22 marked? +

Each assessment objective gets its own mark: up to 8 for knowledge and understanding (AO1), 8 for interpretation and application (AO2) and 10 for analysis and evaluation (AO3). Points supporting the view count towards AO1 and points against it towards AO3.

Where can I download 9699/22 May/June 2026 and its mark scheme? +

Both are free to download and print on the Tutopiya Learning Portal, on the Cambridge AS & A Level Sociology 9699 past papers page.

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