Residential Transitions in Young Adulthood: Family Structure, Household Composition, and Kin Ties

• In Event: Family Section Roundtables
  In Refereed Roundtable (60 minute): Table 1: Adult Children and Their Parents

Abstract

Contemporary young adults are deviating from the traditional linear path toward adulthood, particularly regarding residential mobility. This study investigates how family-child relationships are associated with the timing of residential transitions among young adults. Despite extensive research on predictors of these transitions among previous cohorts of young adults, the role of family relationships, particularly with grandparents, siblings, and extended family, remains understudied among contemporary young adults. Guided by life-course perspectives, this study explores the prevalence of residential transitions into and out of family cohabitation during the transition to adulthood. Using data collected on young adults ages 18 to 50 from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 79: Child and Young Adult panel study (N=7,680), this study employs Weibull survival analyses to analyze the likelihood and timing of residential transitions. These findings indicate that relationships with family have little effect on the transition to independence; however, they have significant effects on returning to live with family. Closer relationships with mothers are associated with a higher likelihood of returning to live with family, whereas closer relationships with fathers are associated with a lower likelihood of returning. Young adults also tend to mirror their siblings in residential moves and are less likely to return to live with family if they previously lived with grandparents or extended family. This study sheds light on key determinants shaping the heterogeneous nature of contemporary adulthood transitions, revealing the intricate influence of kin relationships on transitions into and out of family cohabitation.

Author

• Samuel Berne Titus, University of California-Irvine