Estrangement, Resilience, And Changing Family: A Case Study of Voluntary Kinship

While all families must develop their identities through discourse and experiences, nontraditional families, such as those formed through voluntary kinships, face an even greater discursive burden when constructing and maintaining their relationships. Voluntary kinships are families that are not related legally or biologically. Rather, these families are formed through choice and feel like family through socioemotional connection. Thus, voluntary kinships can provide invaluable insight into the ways families function throughout the life course.

The purpose of this study was to examine how estrangement and geographical distance impacts family functioning in voluntary kin families. To do so, I conducted a case study of a family that is bounded by voluntary kinship who experienced estrangement and geographical distance. Interviews with three family members revealed two main findings. First, a shared history between family members served to secure their ties over a fifty year period, as well as provide a protective factor against estrangement. Second, this family relied on both the material constructions of family and rituals as maintenance strategies prior to the estrangement, and as adaptation strategies post-estrangement.

In voluntary kinships, the typical ties of blood and law are not applicable, so they are especially vulnerable to sudden family changes; therefore, these families provide invaluable insight into the ways family relationships are maintained through trying situations. Thus, in this research I argue that maintaining family rituals is important in sustaining socioemotional closeness. This idea is applicable to all families undergoing major life changes.