Stepfamily and Residential Rootedness
Abstract
Housing and living arrangements have important implications for stepfamilies. The aim of this research was to rephrase questions on housing and living arrangements in terms of “life spaces”. Qualitative interviews show that stepfamilies combine social ties and space by integrating and sharing them but also sometimes by keeping them distinct and in competition with each other. In these types of families, there are spaces where parents and children gather, some locations even allowing relations with the former stepfamily to continue. Moreover, despite the separation of the parental couple, there are places where “family histories” can be constructed, such as in second homes.