HOMELEAVING AGE NORMS - CONFLICT OR CONSENSUS

While research attention has been directed to the normative timing asp ects of some family transitions, Little work on homeleaving has been u ndertaken. Drawing upon in-depth interviews with one child and one par ent in 218 families in which the adult child has/had returned home (bo omerang families) and 202 families in which the adult child has remain ed independently ''launched,'' this article examines a number of aspec ts of norms regarding the appropriate timing of homeleaving. The follo wing issues are examined: the degree of overall consensus regarding ho meleaving age norms; variations by generation and by family type; fact ors viewed as conditioning the normative age at homeleaving; and perce ptions regarding social approval/disapproval of young adults living at home. Results are discussed in terms of theoretical issues in the lif e course perspective regarding age norms.