How To Navigate Moving Back In With Your Parents As An Adult

By Emily Reynolds For many, moving out of the family home is a rite of passage, a sign that adulthood is just about to begin. Equally, however, there are plenty of reasons why somebody might move back in with their parents: after a break-up, to save money, for health reasons, or to care for ageing or unwell relatives. Anecdotally, the COVID-19 pandemic seems to have been another reason for such a move, with articles proliferating on children once more living with their parents and offering advice on how to deal with it. But how do such “boomerang kids” frame their decision to move back home, and how do they ensure it goes well? A new study published in Emerging Adulthood finds four strategies young people use to make the transition back into the family home as positive as possible. Participants were 31 young adults, aged between 18 and 35, who had moved back into the family home. Researchers interviewed the participants on their experiences, before conducting an analysis of the data to pull out the key themes. The analysis found an overarching concern for boomerang kids: framing their move as an “investment in the future” rather than something to be ashamed of. Multiple participants acknowledged the stigma of moving back home, with one expressing that it “made me feel insecure in my success… that others may judge me for it”. This stigma, however, was frequently turned on its head and reframed as a positive decision for the fut...
Source: BPS RESEARCH DIGEST - Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Tags: Social Source Type: blogs