Abstract copyright UK Data Service and data collection copyright owner.

There is considerable diversity in young people's experiences of leaving home throughout Europe, with young people leaving home at much older ages in the south rather than the north. However, relatively little is known about the causes of this diversity and its implications for both young people and their families. This research project explored the relative importance of both structural factors, such as access to higher education, labour and housing market conditions and culturally-defined norms on leaving home in three European countries: Britain, Spain and Norway. Based on in-depth, semi-structured qualitative interviews with young people and their parents in each country, the project investigated both the individual and cultural context of transitions out of the parental home. The research questions addressed include: meanings of home and leaving home identified by young people and parents; young people's expectations of residential independence and its achievement; the role of parents and the state in assisting the transition out of the parental home; the importance of peer groups on leaving home including experiences of young people in other European countries.

Main Topics:

This qualitative data collection includes transcripts of 92 interviews conducted with young people and parents (carried out separately). Topics covered include: young people: living arrangements, emotional and practical issues of leaving/staying in parental home, comparisons of the experience with that of peers both in own and other countries, future expectations. parents: living arrangements, emotional and practical issues of young people leaving/staying in home and parents' concerns about them, comparisons of the the young person's situation with that of peers both in own and other countries, future expectations for young person. 58 young people in the study also completed a life history matrix, but these are not currently included in the data collection. An example of the life history matrix sheet is included in the user guide for the study. Users should note that the interviews conducted in Bilbao are in Spanish. No translation is currently included in the UK Data Archive (UKDA) study.

Volunteer sample

Face-to-face interview