The vulnerability of young adults leaving home

dangers. One of the most crucial changes in human life is that of transition to adulthood. Although the timing of such transition has changed, and although the ancient rites of passage have disappeared, crucial stages still persist in the process of acquiring adult autonomy and responsibilities. One of them is leaving the parental home to live on one’s own, or to form one’s own family. Young people leave the safe haven of their parents’ home to tackle life at first hand relying on their own resources. However, the greatest risks arise at the beginning of independent life. The first years are the true test for the young adults entering public life. Starting off well builds self-confidence and the willingness to accept new challenges. Starting off badly, or hesitantly, may foster a sense of insecurity with harmful consequences. In the post-industrial societies the capacity to control and manage risks has diminished, and the transition to adulthood has grown more complex. Globalization has created new opportunities, but it has also brought new risks for broad sections of the population. The scientific and political debate on the transformation of welfare systems required by the onset of these new risks highlights that the situations of young people are particularly problematic. The new risks are largely connected with difficulties of labour-market entry and the acquisition of a stable and suitable job. Especially in countries with weak public welfare systems and national institutions more rigid in their responses to the potentially harmful effects of the great changes in progress (economic, demographic and social), young people tend to encounter greater difficulties in finding work, in attaining economic independence, and in stabilizing their work careers. This situation generates insecurity and uncertainty about the future, with a consequent tendency to postpone choices that entail the assumption of responsibilities. But the heterogeneity in the timing and patterns of exit from the family of origin in Europe also stems from cultural and anthropological factors which interact with the great forces of change. This interaction has unforeseen consequences on the system of constraints and opportunities encountered by young people as they build their adult lives, on their expectations, on the type of risks to which they are subject, and on how they cope with them. This chapter deals specifically with vulnerability on exit from the parental home. Besides the importance of structural and institutional factors, the analysis expressly considers the family’s protective and propulsive role, which is closely connected with the nature of the tie between parents and children. This leads to exploration of inter- and intra-national similarities and differences, with results which confirm previous findings while also affording new insights.