Independence or interdependence: Norms of leaving home in Italy and Germany

Abstract:

This article contributes to understanding the relatively early residential independence of young Northern Europeans, by comparison to their Southern European peers. It explores the norms and underlying meanings that influence the departure from the parental home and the feelings attached to it. Analysing qualitative, biographically oriented interviews with Italian and German university students and their parents (43 participants), two patterns are identified. The first is an ‘independence’ pattern, which prioritizes the importance of leaving home in order to grow up. The second is an ‘interdependence’ pattern which supports the togetherness of the family and sees the family home as the best environment for young adults –i.e., they leave home only for ‘inevitable’ reasons related to work, education, or family formation. Both patterns are handed down over generations and are transmitted in the socialization process.