Housing Careers of Families with Housing Choice Vouchers: Interpretation with the Housing Adjustment Theory

Abstract

To better understand residential mobility of low-income working families, this study is framed by the Morris and Winter theory of housing adjustment. We describe participants’ housing careers and examine how vouchers, as a resource, influence housing decisions. The study describes perceptions of normative housing deficits before and after receiving a voucher among 17 households in the Saint Paul, Minnesota metropolitan area. Findings suggest that while participants evaluate their housing relative to cultural housing norms, they are often unable to resolve all housing deficits with a voucher. Households make trade-offs, focusing on resolving deficits of greatest importance. This research provides a contemporary application of the housing adjustment theory through analysis of mobility decisions of low-income households. The findings support prior research that the most powerful family preference is for housing in a safe neighborhood. Vouchers help them maintain safe housing, although interpersonal relationship issues continue to influence housing stability.