Living alone: pathways, experiences and future expectations

Abstract

As the number of solo-living individuals continues to rise globally, living alone has become an increasingly prominent social phenomenon, attracting significant attention, particularly in academic circles, and emerging as a subject of inquiry in various studies. However, existing literature often conceptualizes living alone as a status, focusing predominantly on its associations with vulnerabilities and stigmatizations. This tendency risks overlooking its multilayered and multidimensional nature. To address this gap, this study explores the pathways that lead individuals to live alone, their experiences of living alone, and their future expectations regarding their living arrangements. The aim is to highlight the multidimensionality and dynamism of the concept. This analysis complements and modifies existing discussions in the literature by introducing categories derived from the study’s data. The data for this study were collected through in-depth interviews with thirty-six respondents living in Turkey and Sweden, including twenty respondents living in Turkey, seven from Sweden, and nine from Turkey residing in Sweden. The primary contribution of this thesis lies in revealing the multidimensional associations between these pathways, experiences, and future expectations. It also emphasizes the various factors and resources influencing these aspects while presenting diverse scenarios of living alone.