“Few parents can give a child housing”: an anthropologist explained why young people are in no hurry to move from relatives

Young people are in no hurry to leave their mothers and fathers for several reasons, not all of which come down to financial gain. The social anthropologist Olga Vorobyova told this to a Rosbalt correspondent, commenting on the data of VTsIOM that 8.8 million young people in Russia live with their parents, that is, almost 28% of all young people.

According to the expert, even 100 years ago, such a practice would not have been surprising.

“There are two opposite types of families. Extended involves the cohabitation of several generations of adults in the same household. Nuclear, on the other hand, includes a married couple and possibly children. The latter type is historically a comparatively recent “invention”. Russia began this transition en masse only in the 20th century, so it is not surprising that the option of “living separately” is not taken for granted. Few parents are now able to provide a child with separate housing by the age of majority, so it is important to understand what strategies we are seeing in the absence of a second apartment that is ready to accept a “fledgling,” Vorobyeva said.

According to the anthropologist, the VTsIOM survey does not show who exactly makes up the 8.8 million young people living with their parents, but one can assume the groups and their motives. For example, some remain in their hometowns and cannot afford to rent or initiate a mortgage. Others acquire their own families, children and cannot do without the help of relatives. Still others need care for health reasons or help sick loved ones themselves.

“In addition, a number of people see no reason to move out from their parents. Over the years, a stable family system has been formed, in which both parties are satisfied with the current situation. For example, it is important for parents to consider themselves needed and caring, and an adult child is satisfied with the food in the refrigerator and the cleanliness of the house. And a change in this situation without an external stimulus, that is, without the fact that one of the participants suddenly becomes uncomfortable, is very unlikely, ”the expert noted.

According to her, in Europe the situation manifests itself in different ways. So, in the Mediterranean countries, such as Croatia, Italy, Greece, people gravitate towards the extended family, while the state’s economy is not the most successful. At the other extreme are Scandinavian countries with a high level of income and a desire for individualization and respect for personal boundaries. The share of people living with their parents in Russia is comparable to the Scandinavian region, the anthropologist specified.

“In each country, the issue of living or not living with parents is a unique combination of the economic situation, cultural attitudes and the psychological climate of each particular family, so it is difficult to understand from mass surveys how countries differ significantly not in numbers, but in essence. These details would help to reveal a qualitative study based on in-depth interviews and identifying causes and motivations, ”summed up Vorobyova.

Read more expert opinion in the near future in the material “Rosbalt”. A sociologist, an anthropologist, an economist, a social psychologist and a representative of millennials spoke about why grown-up children do not move out from their parents.