ABSTRACT

Drawing an unfavourable contrast between the position of students and graduates with that of their baby boomer parents has become a staple for media comment. Indeed, student indebtedness and difficulties in finding graduate jobs and housing typically contrasts markedly with their parents’ experiences.

Broadening the investigation, ‘Helicopter Parenting’ and ‘Boomerang Children’ depicts how students and graduates are now likely to be close to their parents, receive considerable financial and emotional support from them and, upon graduation, return home. Using qualitative data from two interview studies of middle-class families, this title explores the impact of these changes on young people’s transition to independence and adulthood and on intergenerational and intragenerational equality.

This enlightening monograph will appeal to undergraduate and postgraduate students interested in fields such as Social Policy, Family Sociology and Education.

chapter |19 pages

Introduction

chapter 1|17 pages

Parents and students

Financial support and student independence

chapter 2|19 pages

Students and parents

Communication, emotional and practical support, and independence

chapter 3|19 pages

Co-resident graduates and parents

Relationships, jobs and future expectations

chapter 4|16 pages

Parents and co-resident graduates

Financial arrangements, responsibility and independence

chapter |7 pages

Concluding reflections