A Portrait of the Nest-leaving Process in Early Adulthood

Abstract

This paper provides an in-depth portrait of the nest-leaving process in early adulthood as it emerged in the 1980s. Event histories are used to describe transitions in and out of the parental home during the years from age 15 through age 23. We focus on the role of the "new" forms of living arrangements in the leaving-home process, namely nonfamily living and cohabitation. The results show that the transition to full residential independence is more gradual, with more intermediate steps, than previous studies suggested. Cohabitation is rare as a route out of the parental home, and both nonfamily living and cohabitation lead to much higher return rates than does marriage.

How kinship systems and welfare regimes shape leaving home: A comparative study of the United States, Germany, Taiwan, and China

“…Existing studies commonly link demographic, situational-biographical, and family-of-origin characteristics to home-leaving behavior in single societies (de Jong Gierveld, Liefbroer, and Beekink 1991;Goldscheider, Thornton, and Young-DeMarco 1993;Goldscheider and Goldscheider 1994, 1998Raymore, Barber, and Eccles 2001;Thornton, Young-DeMarco, and Goldscheider 1993;Sandberg-Thoma, Snyder, and Jang 2015;Ting and Chiu 2002;Huang 2013;Jacob and Kleinert 2008;Juang, Silbereisen, and Wiesner 1999;Windzio 2011). Cross-national comparative analysis is less common and often concentrates on culturally homogeneous areas such as Europe or East Asia (Aassve et al 2002;Aassve, Arpino, and Billari 2013;Billari, Philipov, and Baizán 2001;Holdsworth 2000;Iacovou 2002Iacovou , 2010Le Blanc and Wolff 2006;Mulder, Clark, and Wagner 2002;Wolbers 2007;Chu, Xie, and Yu 2011).…”

Do Parents Matter? Parental Attachment and Its Effect on Becoming Independent in Emerging Adulthood

“…It does not measure the revolving door nature of independence that can be found in today's emerging adults. Economic forces or other circumstances sometimes dictate a return to home after an initial departure (Goldscheider et al 1993). Future research may be able to capture the longitudinal nature of this adulthood marker using the Wave IV data that is not yet available.…”

“…Specifically, the literature indicates that being older, female, White, not enrolled in a four-year college or university, or having a Bachelor's degree all have positive predictive value in attaining independence (Hill and Hozer 2007;Portes and Rumbaut 2001;Rumbaut 2004;Goldscheider, Thornton and Young-DeMarco 1993. ) This study will build on previous research and examine a further possible predictor of becoming independentthat is a strong parent-child relationship.…”

“…The percent independent tapers off in the older age groups, as seen in the age groups of 26-year-olds and 27-year-olds above. This data is a snapshot in time and therefore cannot measure the revolving door nature of independence, however it could be plausible that individuals in these older age groups may have initially left the nest only to return once again, as suggested by Goldscheider et al (1993) As predicted by previous studies (Hill and Hozer 2007), individuals who had completed their bachelor's degree had statistically significant higher rates of independence (65.7%) than those without degrees (47.6%) (p<.001, Phi=-.116). In economic terms, the most recent U.S. Census data report that individuals with a degree make higher wages than those without a degree (Day and Nuberger 2002).…”

Marriage and Family

“…In fact, fewer people live in families as traditionally defined and more live in nonfamily households. The rise in nonfamily living can be traced to earlier nest-leaving by young adults (Goldscheider, Thornton, and Young-DeMarco 1993), to delayed marriage and to nonmarriage, to continued high rates of marital disruption with lower rates of remarriage (Cherlin 1992), and to increases in independent living at older ages (Michael, Fuchs, and Scott 1980). In 1998, 15% of all people lived in nonfamily households, 10% alone (U. S. Bureau of the Census 1999: Table 16), compared to 6% in nonfamily households in 1950 (U.S Bureau of the Census 1955).…”