Class and kinship in problem debt
Journal: Focaal
Year: 2025

Abstract This article discusses problem debt in the Netherlands by considering debtors’ social connectedness, focusing especially on the role of kinship. The socioeconomic stratification approach entails problematic assumptions about class in private debt, but we contend that stratification offers only a partial explanation of why some groups acquire problem debt, and others do not. By instead drawing on Pierre Bourdieu's processual class interpretation, we unveil how individuals from particular