Parental Home Research Articles

Evolution of family systems and resultant socio-economic structures

Families form the basis of society, and anthropologists have observed and characterised a wide range of family systems. This study developed a multi-level evolutionary model of pre-industrial agricultural societies to simulate the evolution of family systems and determine how each of them adapts to environmental conditions and forms a characteristic socio-economic structure. In the model, competing societies evolve, which themselves comprise multiple evolving families that grow through family labour. Each family has two strategy parameters: the time children leave the parental home and the distribution of inheritance among siblings. The evolution of these parameters demonstrates that four basic family systems emerge; families can become either nuclear or extended, and have either an equal or strongly biased inheritance distribution. Nuclear families in which children leave the parental home upon marriage emerge where land resources are sufficient, whereas extended families in which children staying at the parental home emerge where land resources are limited. Equal inheritance emerges where the amount of wealth required for a family to survive is large, whereas strongly biased inheritance emerges where the required wealth is small. Furthermore, the frequency of polygyny is low in the present model of agricultural societies, whereas it increases for the model of labour-extensive subsistence patterns other than agricultural societies. Analyses on the wealth distribution of families demonstrate a higher level of poverty among people in extended families, and that the accumulation of wealth is accelerated in families with strongly biased inheritance. By comparing wealth distributions in the model with historical data, family systems are associated with characteristic economic structures and then, modern social ideologies. Empirical data analyses using the cross-cultural ethnographic database verify the theoretical relationship between the environmental conditions, family systems, and socio-economic structures discussed in the model. The theoretical studies made possible by this simple constructive model, as presented here, will integrate the understandings of family systems in evolutionary anthropology, demography, and socioeconomic histories.

Association between obesity and life courses in young adulthood. Results from the KiGGS cohort study

Abstract In the last decades, young adulthood has established as an independent phase of life with important biographical transitions impacting further life course and health. In turn, health in adolescence can also affect the transitions into young adulthood. So far, for Germany there are no analyses on the association between family-related and employment-related biographies and obesity in young adults. The analysis is based on data from the KiGGS cohort study on 3,100 participants aged 23-31 at second follow-up (t2). Using BMI measurements at t0 (2003-2006) and at t2 (2014-2017), obesity groups were formed (no obesity, incidence, remission, persistence). Sequence analysis was used to retrospectively determine family-related and education/employment-related individual trajectories. Differences in life courses between obesity groups were calculated using discrepancy tests. Young adults with incident obesity were more likely to have children or to be a single parent than young adults without obesity at t2. Young adults with obesity at t0 lived longer in the parental home than those without obesity. Young adults with incident or persistent obesity were less likely to attend university and had experienced longer periods of unemployment than those without obesity at t0 and t2. The employment sequences of those without obesity at t2 were not statistically different. Both family and employment biographies were associated with obesity trajectories in young people. However, based on the analysis, it cannot be clarified whether early parenthood led to obesity or early transitions into parenthood led to interruptions in education or employment and subsequently to obesity. The finding that young adults with obesity were less likely to attend university and more likely to be unemployed could be related to disadvantages or discrimination in school, education or work. Obesity in adolescence that did not persist into young adulthood had less adverse effects on education and employment. Key messages Young people’s obesity trajectories were linked to different family/employment biographies. The life courses of young adults with obesity were more often marked by early parenthood and unemployment.

Access to Healthcare for Minors: An Ethical Analysis of Judgments of the European Court of Human Rights.

The right to non-discriminatory access to healthcare is anchored in the European Convention on Human Rights and other international treaties or guidelines. Since its ratification, the European Convention on Human Rights was made binding in all Member States of the Council of Europe and is interpreted by the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR). Despite its legal recognition, discrimination in healthcare provision has repeatedly been an issue of medicoethical and political consideration. In this context, minors are particularly in danger of being deprived of this fundamental right. The aim of this study is to analyze the current state of the ECtHR jurisdiction on challenges in accessing healthcare for minor patients. We conducted a systematic search of judgments by the ECtHR using the keywords “healthcare” and “child”. We performed descriptive statistics and qualitative thematic analysis. Our search resulted in n = 66 judgments, which were all screened. Access to healthcare for minors played a role in n = 21 judgments, which involved applications against n = 13 countries. We formed five, partially overlapping categories, which represent recurring themes regarding the research topic. These themes are governance failure (n = 11), the status of refugee, asylum seeker or migrant (n = 5), parental home (n = 5), maternity and birth (n = 4) and others (n = 2). The normative framework of the ECtHR’s jurisprudence illustrates intersections between social, legal and medicoethical aspects of minors’ discrimination in the healthcare system. It emphasizes the particular vulnerability of children, who require exceptional protection. Inadequate access to healthcare manifests itself in specific situations, such as in the context of migration or staying in public institutions. Healthcare professionals need to be sensitized for such discrimination mechanisms, as they are often at the forefront of encountering structural discrimination in the healthcare system.

Siblings' similarities and dissimilarities: A review of theoretical perspectives and empirical insights

AbstractAlthough siblings may differ considerably, the similarities between them are often an important source of emotional support in one's life and influence one's life course trajectories. In this review on the topic of sibling relationship and cross‐sibling effect interactions, we aim to encourage research interest and facilitate knowledge building. We begin our review by highlighting how the parental home may induce differentiation between siblings. Next, we illustrate the theories explaining sibling similarities and differences and discuss the factors that stimulate these. Throughout the review, we do not only highlight the complex mechanisms by which siblings imitate yet differentiate themselves, but also mutually relate to their life courses and education. New understandings of how similarities between siblings can simultaneously act as powerful influences and negative examples are provided.

O018 Changes in sleep parameters in children with Down Syndrome following treatment

Abstract Introduction There is limited evidence about how sleep changes in children with Down syndrome (DS) following sleep interventions. This study evaluated changes in sleep over time in children receiving treatment comparing to a control group who did not. Methods Children with DS, 3-16yrs, attending the sleep clinic were followed for 24-months. Sleep parameters including parent completed child sleep habits questionnaire (CSHQ), PSG and home sleep diary were obtained pre and post sleep interventions for children undergoing treatment. Data was obtained at similar intervals for the control group who were followed over the same time period. Results Data was obtained for 41 participants, 16 children received an intervention and 25 did not. Interventions included ENT surgery (7), CPAP (4), melatonin (3) or a combination (2). The intervention group had a significantly higher average total CSHQ score overall than those in the control group (0.01). Scores decreased over time but remained higher than in controls throughout, and were clinically significant in both groups (>41). Sleep diary estimated average total sleep duration did not differ between groups and was 10hrs/night. PSG showed improvement in OAHI in those children undergoing pre and post intervention studies. Discussion Evaluation of sleep parameters in this referred cohort of children with Down syndrome demonstrates total sleep duration in keeping with national recommendations and improvement in obstruction with treatment. However, CSHQ results indicate ongoing sleep difficulties reported by parents, despite standard sleep interventions. This may reflect persisting non-respiratory sleep disorders, which are not being adequately addressed at present.

Longitudinal Changes in Life Satisfaction and Mental Health in Emerging Adulthood During the COVID-19 Pandemic. Risk and Protective Factors

The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted emerging adults’ daily routines due to social distancing, stay-at-home orders, and public and educational facilities’ closure. This article uses longitudinal panel data from Germany ( N = 625) to explore how the COVID-19 pandemic affects emerging adults’ mental health and life satisfaction. Specifically, we investigate risk and protective factors for within-person changes in life satisfaction and mental health using change score models. Our analysis reveals three main findings. First, we find a significant decline in emerging adults’ life satisfaction and mental health compared to pre-pandemic levels. Second, results show heterogeneity in life satisfaction and mental health trajectories. Third, limited peer contacts, financial strain, and returning to the parental home act as risk factors for longitudinal changes. Social integration, having an intimate partner, and self-efficacy act as protective factors. We discuss the implications of our findings for the consequences of the pandemic for emerging adults.

“There is a Time for Departure Even when There’s no Certain Place to Go”: the Twisting Path to Selfhood and Adulthood

In today’s post-industrial societies, young people, compared to previous generations, experience longer and more complex processes of creating professional identity, developing a career or finding “one’s vocation”. They also face difficulties in achieving financial independence, starting a family, and leaving parental homes, which altogether define the status of an adult person. Based on the overview of sociological and psychological scholarly literature, the complexity of young people’s identity formation in the context of a passage towards social maturity is analysed. The most significant tensions related to the question of “who am I and what do I want” are emphasized in the article, together with the circumstances of contemporary society that stimulate them. (Non-)applicability of the concept of the quarter-life crisis is finally highlighted in order to summarise, reflect, and explain some of the experiences and life events of young people. The title of the article is a famous quotation of Tennessee Williams.

Making a French Connection: Darwin, Brown-Séquard and the Epilepsy Studies.

While French biologists were turning a cold shoulder to On the Origin of Species in the 1860s, Charles Darwin was earnestly pursuing a professional connection with one French physiologist in particular: Charles Brown-Séquard. Darwin had been closely following Brown-Séquard's startling experiments on guinea pigs, which demonstrated that experimentally induced epilepsy could pass from parent to offspring. In Darwin's mind, Brown-Séquard had produced the most convincing evidence to date that acquired traits could be inherited. Darwin saw opportunities in Brown-Séquard and his work. If Brown-Séquard realized the evolutionary implications of his experiments, and then endorsed the Origin in Paris, Darwin could be well on his way to securing a French audience for his theories. Darwin quickly mobilized his powers of correspondence to make this French connection, but Brown-Séquard received Darwin's advances with caution. A connection with Darwin could be useful in London and America, where he was increasingly spending time, but to publicly support Darwin would be professionally damaging back home in Paris. This paper examines the dance of letters between Darwin and Brown-Séquard, the politics of citation, and the delicacy of sustaining a transnational biological career between France and Britain in the 1860s. This paper casts a new perspective on an old debate in the history of biology. I show that from within the "heavy cloud" of anti-evolutionary thought in France (Stebbins 1988), there existed a live wire between Brown-Séquard and Darwin. I argue that British evolutionary theory in the age of Darwin was built, in part, with French participation.

Die rol van die ouerhuis in die intergenerasionele geloofsvorming van die jeug in belang van ’n geïntegreerde jeugbediening

The role of the parental home in the intergenerational faith formation of the youth for the sake of an integrated youth ministry. This article deals with the following question: What is the role of parents in the intergenerational faith formation of the youth for the sake of an integrated youth ministry? Several studies nationally and internationally have convincingly pointed out that parents have the biggest influence on their children’s faith formation. However, parents are currently still not sufficiently inclusively involved or supported in youth ministry. Osmer’s fourfold reflective equilibrium model forms the frame for how this article is structured. Nel’s theory of inclusive youth ministry is used as a theological framework from which the role of parents in intergenerational faith formation is investigated. The empirical research (quantitative, as well qualitative) was conducted among 175 parents and 10 ministers coming from 29 congregations in the Noordelike, Oostelike, Hoëveld- and Goudland synods of the Dutch Reformed Church. These congregations all have a family and/or intergenerational focus in their (youth) ministry. The research has shown that youth ministry cannot by means of programmes, structures and even relationships in any way replace the important role played by parents in the lives of their children, regardless of what happens in the youth ministry. When the parental home and youth ministries do not act as partners in the faith formation process, it does not only lead to weak faith, but also to a lack of commitment, unsustainability and ultimately alienation. Youth ministries can therefore not function effectively without an integrated ministry, which includes the parental home. With all the challenges threatening their capacity, the parental home can also not function effectively as faith mediators without an inclusive youth ministry. The research thus clearly indicates that Nel’s theory of inclusive youth ministry, is not only noteworthy, but it is also in the long term, necessary to work towards the congregation’s eschatalogical sustainability.Intradisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary implications: Youth ministries do not involve parents as the core part of their ministry. When youth ministries integrate parents into their ministry, children will be better guided in their faith formation. This adjustment calls for a paradigm shift in the focus of traditional youth ministry. Intergenerational faith formation in this study was approached within the framework of Practical Theology, Congregational Development and Youth Ministry.

Imagining a future in the austerity city: Anticipated futures and the formation of neoliberal subjectivities of youth in Ireland

This paper explores what anticipated futures of disadvantaged urban youth can reveal about the contemporary and future consequences of austerity. As austerity has disrupted several transitions associated with adulthood, such as finding work and moving out of the parental home, it affects how young adults imagine their future. Young adults living in neighbourhoods of concentrated deprivation were particularly vulnerable to such disruptions. Therefore, this paper builds on semi-structured interviews with youth from Knocknaheeny (Cork) and Ballymun (Dublin) in Ireland to present two vignettes reflecting dominant narratives on anticipated futures. First, a narrative that embraces neoliberal logic, where young adulthood is the basis for future success through dedicated hard work rather than a phase of exploration of possible futures. Second, a narrative of “acceptance” where youth imagines the future to “go on” from the present and becomes a source of anxiety or resignation. This paper shows that combining vignettes with interview data presents two benefits. First, they illuminate the complex and sometimes contradictory stories of youth making sense of their present, past and future. Second, comparing and contrasting the vignettes to multiple participant stories can disentangle roles of location, class, gender and other differentiations. In conclusion, the paper stresses the importance of imagined futures for understanding everyday geographies of austerity as anticipated futures surface in everyday practices, behaviour, and attitudes.

Early home-leaving (HL) and educational attainment: The moderating role of HL in the intergenerational transmission of education

Leaving the parental home is a key step in successful transitions to adulthood. Early home-leaving (HL) is associated with lower educational attainment, but the role of early versus later home-leaving in the intergenerational transmission of education has not been assessed in previous research. We used a longitudinal register-based total sample of families in Finland to examine whether the association between parental and offspring education differs between early (below age 19) and later home-leavers, including a comparison between early and later leaving siblings. We found the lower probability of completing any secondary degree among early leavers to be larger among those with lower-educated than higher-educated parents. In contrast, in continuing to tertiary-level education, the educational disadvantage among early leavers was much larger among offspring of the higher-educated parents. Differences by HL across levels of parental education persisted adjustment for other parental and childhood resources, although only modest evidence of moderation was found when comparing early and later leaving siblings. Our findings on weaker intergenerational transmission of education among early leavers with an advantaged background, and accumulation of disadvantage among early leavers with less advantaged background suggest that timing of HL has an independent role in educational inequalities.

The Transition to a Coresidential Partnership: Who Moves and Who Has the Partner Move In?

Moving into a joint household is an important step in the process of union formation. While a growing body of literature investigates differences between those couples who start coresidence and those who do not, we know little about the likelihood of moving upon the start of coresidence. The aim of this paper is to investigate how individual and couple-level characteristics are associated with moving, or having a partner move in, at the start of coresidence. We use data from 10 waves of the German Family Panel pairfam for those who started coresidence (n = 983) and estimate logistic regression models of moving versus having a partner move in. The respondents in the sample are quite young with a mean age of 27. For long-distance relationships, those with a higher level of education than their partner and women who were living in close proximity to their parents were less likely to move. In short-distance relationships, respondents living in the parental home or in crowded housing were more likely to move than those living in uncrowded housing. In contrast with previous research, we did not find that women were more likely to move than men. Our results highlight that factors like educational resources, housing demands, and local family ties have differential effects on moving decisions at the start of coresidence depending on the distance moved.

THE COMPLEX MOBILITIES OF RURAL VERSUS URBAN YOUTH: MOBILITY INTO AND OUT OF THE PARENTAL HOME AND ONE’S COMMUNITY

This paper examines the options facing rural versus urban youth as they negotiate the complex mobilities of moving into adulthood. Specifically, it looks at the links between geographic mobility into and out of one’s home community, and mobility into and out of the parental home. Qualitative and numeric data from a longitudinal survey of 1200 youth provide insight into these transitions. Leaving the parental home is clearly a process rather than an event, and for many it is subjective and ambiguous. More rural youth than urban expected to leave both their parental home and their community, for education and work, and more in fact did leave, by age 19 and 22. This pattern reflects the often limited educational and work options in rural areas. Many youth returned to the parental home for varying lengths of time; again, more rural than urban youth followed this pattern. Urban youth more often have the option of staying close to home to pursue further education or find a job. The parental home serves as an important safety net for youth, especially those who may have been pushed to leave because of limited options nearby. Having the option of returning home gives youth an additional way of dealing with the challenges of their complex mobilities. The results confirm that the pressures on rural youth as they grapple with the mobilities options available to them are quite different than those on their urban counterparts. Thus, rural youth are more often faced with the complexities inherent in the links between social and spatial mobilities.

Unpacking intentions to leave the parental home in Europe using the Generations and Gender Survey

Comparative research has shown considerable cross-national differences in the age at leaving the parental home across Europe. Intentions to leave home might help to shed light on such marked heterogeneity in patterns of home-leaving.

Pet Parenting in the United States: Investigating an Evolutionary Puzzle.

Fertility rates continue to decline globally amidst the second demographic transition, marked by urbanization, increased educational attainment, and most importantly, a new flexibility in life-course organization. As a result, some individuals are choosing to bring companion animals in the home rather than raising children. Purpose The purpose of this study is to explore whether these transitions result in differential companion animal attachment and caregiving behavior in the homes of parents (or those who desire to become parents) and nonparents or childfree "pet parents." Methods A total of 917 respondents completed an online survey via Qualtrics that included demographic questions, the Lexington Attachment to Pets Scale (LAPS), and Likert-scale questions designed to probe direct and indirect caretaking behaviors. Results Nonparents reported more Generalized Attachment and more Affective Responsiveness to their companion animals, as well as increased investment in General Care. They also reported more People Substituting on the LAPS. Parents and nonparents reported similar agreement regarding Animal Rights/Welfare and Training and Play. Conclusion I conclude that nonparents' investment in companion animals much like parents invest in children, but in ways that meet species-specific needs. This supports the notion that nonparents may be nurturing companion animals as a trade-off to raising children, but not as a substitute. This is an evolutionarily novel application of parenting strategies in a new, flexible environment.

Parental Involvement and Home Language Practices by Non-native English-speaking Parents

Parental Involvement and Home Language Practices by Non-native English-speaking Parents

On the changes of the intention to leave the parental home during the COVID-19 pandemic: a comparison among five European countries

With the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic in Europe during the first months of 2020, most of the governments imposed restrictive measures to people mobility and physical distance (the lockdown), which severely impacted on the economic activities and performance of many countries. Thus, the health emergency turned rapidly into in an economic crisis. The COVID-19 crisis in Europe increased the uncertainty about the economic recovery and the end of health emergency. This situation is supposed to have conditioned individuals’ life course path with the effect of inducing people to postpone or to abandon many life plans.This paper aims to explore and describe whether the rise of health emergency due to the COVID-19 has delayed or vanished young people’s intention to leave the parental home, in order to establish their own household, during 2020 in five European countries: Italy, Germany, France, Spain and the UK. Using data from an international survey from the “Youth Project”, carried out by the Toniolo Institute of Advanced Studies, this paper implements generalized logistic models for ordinal dependent variables to investigate the factors associated with a possible revision of the choice of leaving the parental home for a representative sample of 6000 respondents aged 18 to 34, interviewed between March and April 2020. In particular, we compare the effect of the occupational condition and the perceived income and employment vulnerability on the chance of confirmation, postponement or abandonment of the pre-pandemic plan across the five selected European countries.Results show that Italy, Spain and the UK are the countries with the highest probability of a downward revision of the intentions of leaving the nest. Especially in these countries, having negative expectations about changes in the individual’s and family’s future income is associated with the choice of abandoning the purpose of leaving the parental home. However, the vulnerability of the category of temporary workers particularly arises in Southern European countries: young people with precarious jobs seem to be the most prone to negatively revise their intentions of leaving, even compared with those not working.

Leaving Parental Home in Selected Central European Countries

The article examines leaving parental home in selected Central European countries: The Czech Republic, Poland and former German Democratic Republic. Women born in 1952−1972/1982 were analysed. The topic is first discussed theoretically and conceptually. It gives the basic overview of the life course perspective and of the concept of transition to adulthood. The Fertility and Family survey data were analysed using survival analysis. The aim of the study is timing of leaving parental home and analyzing the predictors of leaving parental home. Although the Central European countries did not offer extreme differences in demographic behaviour, specific similarities and differences in timing, especially in predictors of leaving home, had been expected and found afterwards. <b>Přechod do dospělosti: Odchod dětí z domova rodičů ve vybraných zemích střední Evropy</b> Cílem tohoto článku bylo postihnout problematiku přechodu do dospělosti, potažmo proces odchodu dětí z domova rodičů ve vybraných zemích střední Evropy. Pro analýzu byla použita data z mezinárodního šetření Fertility and Family Survey, konkrétně se jednalo o ženy narozené v období 1952–1972/82. Země Česká republika, Polsko a Východní Německo byly vybrány záměrně. Tyto země po dlouho dobu 40 let zažívaly shodný politický systém. Na druhou stranu měla každá z vybraných zemí odlišný historický vývoj. Hlavním cílem bylo na základě výše zmíněných faktorů nalézt shody a odlišnosti v časování odchodu z domova rodičů. Mezi nejvýznamnější zjištění náleží zaprvé to, že v Polsku dochází k odchodu od rodičů později a že přibližně jedna třetina žen neodešla vůbec z domova rodičů. Naopak ve Východním Německu ženy odcházely z domova rodičů v mladším věku. Tato událost byla ve Východním Německu částečně propojena s další událostí přechodu do dospělosti, s prvním soužitím s partnerem, avšak nesouvisela do takové míry s uzavřením manželství. Pro český vzorek žen bylo naopak typické, že odcházely z domova relativně brzy po dosažení plnoletosti. Událost odchodu od rodičů byla však výrazně spjata s prvním soužitím s partnerem a zároveň s manželstvím. U všech třech souborů žen bylo zjištěno, že počet sourozenců a vzdělání v době odchodu dětí od rodičů byly faktory se silným vlivem na odchod dětí od rodičů.

Period measures of life course complexity

BACKGROUND Life course complexity has so far been analyzed from a cohort perspective, but period measures could allow the holistic analysis of the impact of temporary circumstances on it. OBJECTIVE We measure life course complexity from a period perspective and decompose the results according to age and transition type. METHODS Complexity is measured as the number of distinct states visited (NDS) and the average number of visits to each visited state (ANV). Measures are based on sequences taken from different cohorts from a similar age onward, until a common period of interest. Period complexity is the sum of the cohort-specific differences in complexity reached at the beginning and at the end of the period of interest, summed through years of age. RESULTS Analyzing life courses of Dutch women born 1977-2000, we find decreases in NDS and increases in ANV from both perspectives. Changes are explained by a decrease in transitions to being married and an increase in returns to the parental home and living alone. CONCLUSIONS A woman who would experience the complexity of the years 2017-2018 throughout her life course would visit fewer distinct states and return more often to the same states than any average woman born between 1977-1978 and 1987-1988 actually did. This means that life courses might continue to become less linear in the future and that some of the parts that constitute them might continue to become more often omitted. CONTRIBUTION Our approach allows us to analyze holistically the influence of temporary circumstances on life course complexity, which might prove useful in assessing the impact of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic on the transition to adulthood.

Homeownership out of reach? Intergenerational transfers and homeownership reproduction in middle class families in Rome, Italy

Access to homeownership for young adults is becoming more and more difficult. Italy – where homeownership rates for young adults are steadily decreasing – is a case in point. In the recent past, becoming homeowner was an obvious housing pathway for Italian young adults, even from lower-middle class families. If your parents were homeowner, you became homeowner as well, often with the help of intergenerational transfers. However, the Italian reproduction of homeownership is under severe pressure, as a result of the economic crisis and the subsequent austerity measures. Through in-depth interviews with young adults and their parents, this paper shows how deeply ingrained social expectations and aspirations surrounding homeownership – together with an objective lack of rental options – result in young adults staying longer in their parental home and becoming independent at a later age. This may have a negative impact on the social and economic dynamics within Italian society.