Parents’ lives are being made miserable by grown-up children returning home because they cannot afford a place of their own, a new study suggests.

Recent figures show that there are around 1.23 million young people aged between 25 and 34 still live in the family home, the so-called ‘boomerang generation.’

But far from curing empty-nest syndrome, a new study from the London School of Economics and the University of Essex, suggests the return of adult children causes a series decline in parents’ quality of life and well-being.

The negative impact is similar to suffering an age-related disability, such as losing the ability to walk or get dressed.

Dr Marco Tosi of LSE’s Department of Social Policy: “When children leave the parental home, marital relationships improve and parents find a new equilibrium.

“They enjoy this stage in life, finding new hobbies and activities. When adult children move back, it is a violation of that equilibrium.”

According to the Office for National Statistics around quarter of young adults in Britain are living with their parents, the highest number since records began in 1996. If the trend continues another 500,000 will move back home in the next decade, and 100,000 say they believe they will never have the means to move out.