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“It’s give and take”: Australian families’ experiences of negotiating financial and domestic contributions when young adults return home

journal contribution
posted on 2017-12-01, 00:00 authored by Elyse WarnerElyse Warner, Claire Henderson-WilsonClaire Henderson-Wilson, Fiona AndrewsFiona Andrews
Young adults are increasingly reliant on parental support, with co-residence as a result of a return home increasingly common. Despite this, little is known about how family members negotiate financial and domestic contributions post-return. This qualitative study used a phenomenological methodology to explore the experiences of Australian parents and young adults who returned to co-residence in terms of the younger family members’ contributions to their household. Findings revealed that the young adults acknowledged the need to contribute but often varied in how much assistance they offered. For the most part, the extent of this contribution reflected their parents’ actions; the tendency not to ask for assistance and undertake tasks themselves meant offspring were not given incentives to contribute. While this at times resulted in unmet expectations and frustration among parents, they continued to act in ways that favourably accommodated their offspring. These findings highlight the importance of understanding the negotiation between parents and young adults in regards to household contributions, and the need for further qualitative investigation in this area.

History

Journal

Journal of family and economic issues

Volume

38

Issue

4

Pagination

541 - 555

Publisher

Springer

Location

New York, N.Y.

ISSN

1058-0476

eISSN

1573-3475

Language

eng

Publication classification

C Journal article; C1 Refereed article in a scholarly journal

Copyright notice

2017, Springer