Regional Differences in the Transition to Adulthood

Abstract

This article examines the living arrangements of people between ages fifteen and thirty-five in Europe and the United States. Three regional patterns emerge in Europe. In southern Europe, young people remain for extended periods in the parental home and tend to make direct transitions from living at home to (formal) marriage and parenthood. In northern Europe, youngsters leave home earlier and more commonly live alone or in cohabiting unions. The Scandinavian countries form an extreme example of northern behavior, with particularly early home leaving and high levels of nonmarital cohabitation. In the United States, there are large differences between young blacks, whites, and Hispanics. Formal marriage is as common among whites as it is in southern Europe; the extended family is common for blacks and Hispanics, and lone motherhood among young black American women far outstrips the highest rates in Europe.