Journal Article

Parental coresidence, young adult role, economic, and health changes, and psychological well-being

Caputo, J. Society and Mental Health, 1–19 (2018) DOI:10.1177/2156869318812008 Open Access

Abstract

Despite recent concern surrounding increases in parental coresidence during young adulthood, questions about the relationship between this demographic shift and the well-being of young adults have received little scholarly attention. This paper uses survey data from Add Health to examine the relationship between parental coresidence transitions and depressive symptoms, as well as whether these patterns are contingent upon changes in economic resources, self-rated health, and transitions surrounding college graduation, work, marriage and parenthood. The analyses reveal that those returning to a parental home after experiencing residential independence report an increase in depressive symptoms relative to their stably independent peers, even accounting for other mental health-linked changes that predict these residential patterns and evaluations of relationships with parents. The findings highlight the implications of the trend toward parental coresidence for current young adults’ mental health.