A Theory of Family Housing Adjustment

The paper presents a conceptual and theoretical framework for the study of the housing adjustment behavior of families. Families are viewed as evaluating their housing in terms of cultural norms and family norms. When their housing does not meet the norms, it tends to give rise to dissatisfaction, producing a propensity to reduce the normative deficit. Residential mobility, residential adaptation, and family adaptation are the modes of adjustment used to reduce such deficits, and are undertaken when the constraints on the behavior can be overcome.