Failure to Launch? Exits from and Returns to the Parental Home among Emerging Adults in the U.S.

Anastasia R. Snyder, Ohio State University
Bohyun Joy Jang, Ohio State University

This study examines exits from and returns to the parental home across two cohorts using data from the NLSY79 and NLSY97. Recent reports find that about 30% of young adults aged 25–34 lived with their parents at some point during the Great Recession, and 24% of 18–34 year olds returned to their parental home. The findings contribute to the existing literature because most recent studies documenting an alarming rise in coresidence with parents use cross sectional data and fail to take a dynamic view of home leaving and returning across the emerging adult life course. Our findings suggest that large differences in home leaving and returning do not exist between the NLSY79 and NLSY97 cohorts. Within cohort variability does however find significant variability in home leaving and returning by sex, race/ethnicity and reason for first exit.