이혼한 딸과 부모의 동거 경험 - 일방적 의존과 상호적 의존의 경계에서 -

The purpose of this study is to explore the lived experiences of adult daughters who returned to their parents’s home after divorce. We focused on the meanings of co-residence and the mechanism of their relationships. The participants of our in-depth interviews were five pairs of divorced daughters (35-40 years) and their parents (61-69 years; three mothers and two fathers). Our thematic analysis found that the divorce of the daughter made herself feel guilty and her parents feel sorry. Divorce was an inevitable decision to the daughters and the parents had no choice but to accept her decision. However, the parents in general did not want to disclose their daughters’ divorce to others. Intergenerational co-residence was pleasant and was more advantageous than disadvantageous for daughters who returned to their parents after a hard marriage. The daughters’ relationships with their fathers tended to be superficial whereas mother-daughter relationships were very close and ambivalent. Some parents stated that living with a divorced daughter was different from living with the same daughter before she got married. These parents were worried about the divorced daughter’s uncertain later life and, therefore, tried to support her in various ways. Most parents regarded the co-resident daughter as a child who was not an adult yet. At the same time, some parents regarded the daughter as a “big girl” whom they wanted to depend on.