Uncertainty and exploration: living arrangements when becoming an adult in the UK

Description/Abstract

In the more economically developed world, there is increasing evidence to support the presence of an intermediate life stage between adolescence and adulthood. However, there is ongoing debate regarding the prevalence, distribution of nature of this life stage and its relationship to individualisation processes. We examine these issues in relation to the changing living arrangements of young adults. Using data from the UK Labour Force Survey for 1998 and 2008, we show a move away from partnership and family formation, counteracted by a rise in living outside a family among men and a rise in living in the parental home among women. An ‘exploratory’ phase of shared non-family living appears to be particularly prominent among those with experience of higher education. When the transition to adulthood is constrained by labour market uncertainty, the result is often an extended period of dependency on parents. We conclude that a postponement of the transition to adulthood can be observed across social groups but that the experience of this life phase is likely to be heterogeneous and shaped by key structural forces such as age, gender, education and labour market position.

Keywords: young adulthood; transition; NEET; labour market; higher education