“Why Should I Leave?” Belgian Emerging Adults’ Departure From Home

Abstract

In today’s Western societies, the transition to adulthood is prolonged, creating a separate developmental phase between adolescence and adulthood referred to as emerging adulthood. Following from this general delay in adult commitment-making, a considerable number of emerging adults continues to live in the parental household. The present study was conducted in Belgium and aimed to obtain a greater understanding of the home-leaving experience by qualitatively exploring how emerging adults who live with their parents or who have taken steps toward independent living experience their residential status. Twenty Belgian emerging adults, aged 24 to 25, were questioned during an interview. Responses were analyzed using interpretative phenomenological analysis. Emerging adults’ descriptions suggest that the home-leaving process is a complex period in life characterized by feelings of ambivalence, whereby young people are simultaneously trying to combine a strong need for independence with a wish to remain connected to the parents. Implications for clinical practice and future research are discussed.