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When 20-Somethings Move Back Home, It's Not Such a Horrible Thing, Study Says
Filed under: In The News, Social & Emotional Growth: Teens
It's OK if they move back in! Credit: Getty Images
But here's the thing to know: Your kid is not a slacker. And you're not a helicopter landing pad or his maid. You're a safety net.
So says a new study that finds young adults are heading back to the homestead in rising numbers -- and that it's alright, Time magazine reports.
The researchers studied 712 young adults ages 24 to 32 and found that financial help for mid-20-somethings is just a stop-gap, with almost half of them receiving either money, moving expenses or living with their parents.
But, by the time they reached 30, only 10 to 15 percent received help, Time reports.
"Today, the road to adulthood is much longer and more arduous than it was 30 years ago," study author Teresa Swartz says in a in a statement describing the study, which appeared in the Journal of Marriage and Family. "Parental aid serves as 'scaffolding' to help young people who are working towards financial self-sufficiency and as 'safety nets' for those who have experienced serious difficulties."
A growing number of studies have pointed to the rising unemployment and recessionary economic forces that have spiked the trend of young adults moving back home, as well as the rise in extended families living under one roof, Parent Dish reported last September.
More than 49 million Americans -- that's more than one in six people -- live in households with three or more generations, according to a Pew Research study. The percentage is even higher for age groups including 25- to 34-year-olds, and those 65 and older, where one in five, or 20 percent, live in extended families. The study also finds that from 2007 to 2008, the number of Americans living in a multi-generational family household grew by 2.6 million.
The good news: The new study counters criticism that these young adults are indulgent and prolonging their dependence on Mom and Dad, researchers tell Time. Instead, parents are simply responding to the current economic reality, they add.
"In an economy that requires advanced education for good jobs, parents are more likely to aid their children when they are students," Swartz says in the statement. "As the labor market offers fewer opportunities for stable, full-time, well-paid work for the young, parents often fill in when needed."
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ReaderComments (Page 1 of 1)
3-19-2011 @ 3:58PM
Barbara Greenberg and Jennifer Powell-Lunder said...Great article! Love the point that you made. Thought you might enjoy our article from www.talkingteenage-
The article is called The Hard to Launch Generation!
Barbara and Jennifer
Authors Of Teenage as a Second Language-A Paren's Guide to Becoming Bilingual
Reply
3-20-2011 @ 4:09AM
Averagedancer said...I survived economic hard times without moving back home. What I often see nowadays, is kids getting expensive cars and other toys because they're living rent-free at home instead of trying to make it on their own. Bad idea. The next generation of moochers will be at home until they retire.
Reply
3-29-2011 @ 2:19AM
Santa\'s helper said...Hello,
its not all moochers. I am 40 now and lived at home for 3 years in my early 20s with my husband while he finished college. Strange,yes-but it worked and got everything rolling for us so we could be financially independent. I thank my parents for that blessing. It would have been most difficult to do it on our own.
Reply