Identity Under Pressure

The authors examine identity strategies of middle-class couples who come under pressure of over-indebtedness. Based on biographical interviews collected in a qualitative panel study in three waves, they explore the question of how identity is worked on in the couple and how identity changes when social decline threatens. The theory-generating analysis brings out patterns of coping with over-indebtedness and self-placement described along the notions of 'continuity', 'modification' and 'moratorium'. Similarly, they explore how lifeworlds are constructed in and with over-indebtedness as a couple.

This book is a translation of an original German edition. The translation was done with the help of artificial intelligence (machine translation by the service DeepL.com). A subsequent human revision was done primarily in terms of content, so that the book will read stylistically differently from a conventional translation.

Insights into dealing with and responding to over-indebtedness and insolvency Strategies for maintaining middle class membership First implementation of a qualitative longitudinal study in this target group

Autorentext

Dr. Marion Müller is managing Director of the sine Institute, Munich. Prof. Dr. Patricia Pfeil teaches at the University of Applied Sciences Kempten and is a founding member of the sine Institute, Munich. Dr. Udo Dengel, Fulda University of Applied Sciences, is a research associate at Fulda University of Applied Sciences and the sine Institute, Munich. Lisa Donath works as managing director of the sine-Institute, Munich.

Inhalt
Middle class as the study group.- Identity/identity work.- Research process and methodological procedure.- Identity work strategies in the course of over-indebtedness/insolvency.- Crisis of identity - exemplary case descriptions.- Lonely or together? Lifeworld of couples in over-indebtedness.- Concluding remarks and review of results.- Appendices.