Single-person households: The experience of living alone

Abstract

Single-person households have become a new way of life for men and women developing dynamics of consumption and coexistence which are different from traditional families. Their increasing number and social importance makes this a relevant research topic for social work, a discipline which has as one of its main research objectives to identify and analyze transformations in family dynamics and the ways in which people live together. Therefore, this article contributes to the understanding of this social structure, as it identifies a series of particular characteristics, routes of entry and establishment for single-person households, significant experiences of their members, and the conflicts regarding their conformation and structure. These aspects become a valuable contribution from social work to the understanding of the reality and the dynamics of single-person households in the context of contemporary society.