| Summary: | This dissertation is a comparative study of Sámi and Norwegian family living arrangements, explored from the perspective of the elderly and their co-residing behaviour with an own adult child. Up until 1875 nearly two-thirds of all elderly Sámi resided with an own adult child, 10 percentage points lower among Norwegians. In 1900, fewer than half of the elderly lived together with an own adult child. The change happened in the Sámi as well as in the Norwegian population, however it was most pronounced among the Sámi. The change was primarily characterized by a decline in the number of married sons staying in their parental homes, and the decline was persistent in all economic sectors. What we see is an increase in dependent elderly people living as lodgers in households of supposedly non-relatives. A focus on household economy has revealed that intergenerational co-residence was positively associated with an occupation in farming, or combined fishing and farming, compared with an occupation in fishing. The association between political economy and intergenerational co-residence focuses on the effects of legal rules governing inheritance. Unlike the Norwegian system that benefitted the oldest son, the youngest son’s right has been determined as a Sámi system. Thus, differences in intergenerational co-residence between Norwegians and the Sámi, at least up until 1875, might therefore be explained by differences in inheritance practice. The dissertation further argues that the decline in intergenerational co-residence between 1875 and 1900 may be explained by young men’s increased opportunities to take on different occupations, and for some this may have been more attractive than staying at home. Secondly, we know that the Norwegian state increased its efforts to assimilate the Sámi population into Norwegian law and culture. Along with this assimilation process, we also see an increased interaction in the private sphere, e.g. interethnic marriages. Thus, as ethnic differences in intergenerational co-residence had ...
|
|---|