CPC - Projects - Leaving and returning home in the UK

Project contributors: Berrington A, Falkingham J, Stone J,

This Project is part of the following research programme/s:

Overview

Objectives
The key objective of this project was to document and explain changes over the past two decades in young adults' living arrangements. It looked at the trends in living arrangements over the past two decades, and the characteristics of those who remain living in the parental home in their late twenties and early thirties.

It also investigated how individual, parental and contextual factors determine the timing of leaving the parental home, and the life course experiences that are associated with the likelihood of returning. In addition, the role that social policies play in influencing the ability of young adults' to maintain residential independence was considered.

Methods
This quantitative project ran alongside the qualitative work of Heath and Calvert on non-family living among young adults and provided the context for this work. The two projects (quantitative and qualitative) aimed to address inter-related issues regarding living arrangements in young adulthood.

First, data from the UK Labour Force Survey was used to examine changes over time in living arrangements. The second phase used the same data, but differentiated those young adults living outside of the parental home according to whether they were living in a new family, living alone, or sharing with others outside of a family.In the third phase, data from the British Household Panel Study (BHPS) was used – in which young adults are interviewed annually – to investigate factors related to leaving and returning to the parental home.

Findings
The research showed that living in the parental home has become particularly common for those in their mid-twenties and early thirties. Although women still tend to leave home earlier than men and are less likely to return, gender differences are reducing as more young women enrol in higher education. There has been a shift towards living outside a family on leaving the parental home, which is again related to higher education but also to increased immigration of young adults into the UK. The expansion of higher education has also led to increased returns to the parental home, particularly for young women in their early twenties.

Economic factors are important for delaying home-leaving, including local house prices as well as individual circumstances such as being unemployed. In terms of returning, experiencing a separation or divorce is a key event, but its effect differs for men and women and for those with and without children. In particular, newly unpartnered mothers are unlikely to return to live with their parents, probably due to reliance on the welfare state, while single, non-resident fathers – who have little access to welfare support – are the group most likely to return after a partnership ends. These findings may become increasingly important in view of recent policy changes relating to, for example, housing benefit and social housing.

Publications & Activities

Young adults leaving and returning home: insights from BHPS and Understanding Society
Workshop on Family Formation and Change (2016). (British Academy, London)
Authors: Berrington A,

Projects

Leaving and returning home in the UK

Overview

Publications & Activities

Media