Youth Inside or Outside the Parental Home

Abstract

This article presents some trends in the leaving home process of young adults between 1950 and 1990 and the trend shift that took place in the second half of the 1970s. Using a theoretical scheme, the authors discuss the possible relationship of material and nonmaterial resources in the family and outside the family with young adults' decision of leaving or staying home. Related to family-bound material resources, the authors discuss variables such as parental money, parental services, and the economic job status of the father. Nonmaterial family resources are the parent-child relationship, norms and values, and educational level. Both material and nonmaterial variables do not explain the trend shift in the leaving home process. In general, the authors conclude that the material and nonmaterial variables outside the family offer promising explanations for the trend shift in the average age at which young adults leave home for the first time.