A Time to Leave Home and A Time Never to Return? Age Constraints on the Living Arrangements of Young Adults

Given profound demographic change in patterns of leaving and returning home since the 1960s, little attention has been paid to classical sociological questions related to age norms. Interviews were conducted with a random sample of 319 adults in the Chicago metropolitan area. A large majority of respondents perceived an age deadline for leaving home. In addition, there was nearly complete agreement that both men and women should leave home between the ages of 18 and 25. The reasons cited for these deadlines were largely related to the development of self and personality. At the same time, most respondents argued that there were no consequences for young adults who remain at home beyond the deadline. Returning home, in direct contrast, was generally not perceived as an event that should be constrained by age. Instead, these decisions should be tailored along the dimensions of need and circumstance. These results are discussed within the context of the changing demography of these transitions and several larger life-course debates.