海角大神

After graduating from Brown University in 2009 with a bachelor鈥檚 degree in comparative literature and completing a Fulbright scholarship in Brazil, Cassie Owens was left with a few dollars on her stipend and no job in sight. So, Ms. Owens returned home to her mother in Philadelphia.

鈥淚 moved back home pretty much for lack of money and prospects,鈥� she says. Owens鈥檚 cousin, Evon Burton, who also returned home after graduating from Morehouse College in 2009, adds, 鈥淭he choice is to go out and be in debt or to pursue your dreams and save up money at home, in a safe, stable environment.鈥�

Owens and Burton are among the scores of so-called 鈥渂oomerang kids,鈥� young adults who move out of the family home for school or work and then return home. Unable to find well-paying work in a weak economy, escalating numbers of young adults 鈥� as many as 3 in 10 鈥� are returning home to the family nest, resulting in the highest share of young adults living in multigenerational households since the 1950s, according to a Pew Research Center report released Thursday.

鈥淭he rise in the boomerang phenomenon illustrates the effect the recession and the weak economy are having on young adults,鈥� says Kim Parker, a senior researcher at Pew and the author of the study. 鈥淵oung adults were hit particularly hard in the job market and are having to delay reaching some basic financial milestones of adulthood because of this.鈥�

In 1980, some 11 percent of young adults lived in multigenerational households, suggesting that a strong economy helped youngsters gain independence more quickly. Today, some 29 percent of 25- to 34-year olds either never moved out of their parents鈥� home or say they returned home in recent years because of the economy, according to the Pew report. Among 18- to 24-year olds, that figure is even higher 鈥� 53 percent of young adults in that age group live at home.

鈥淭hese statistics show that the recession has exacerbated a trend that was already under way since the 1980s 鈥� living at home longer and boomeranging back more frequently,鈥� says Barbara Ray,聽coauthor of 鈥淣ot Quite Adults: Why 20-Somethings Are Choosing a Slower Path to Adulthood and Why It's Good for Everyone.鈥� The recession has hit this age group particularly hard, says Ms. Ray, and high unemployment among young adults, combined with growing college debt, means more youngsters are returning home.

Surprisingly, most 鈥渂oomerang kids鈥� don鈥檛 mind living with mom and dad. If ever there were a stigma about living with parents through one's late twenties and thirties, the recession and, along with it, a practical dollars-and-cents outlook on life have all but erased that perception.

Of those living at home, some 78 percent say they鈥檙e upbeat about their living arrangements, according to the Pew study, and 24 percent say it鈥檚 been good for their relationships with their parents (48 percent say it hasn鈥檛 changed their relationship).

Owens says she鈥檚 happy to have an opportunity to look after her mother, who isn鈥檛 in good health.

鈥淢y parents love it and if they could keep me here forever they would,鈥� says Erika Brunner, who moved back home to Lafayette, N.Y., in 2010 after completing her bachelor鈥檚 degree, working, and traveling in Europe for five months.

鈥淭here are some very positive aspects of this shift,鈥� says Ray, 鈥淸like] closer parent-child relationships, for example, or a growing sense of intergenerational obligation.鈥�

What鈥檚 more, says Parker, the trend of young adults returning home, and with it, the increasing number of multigenerational households in the US, suggest family is once again becoming an important social safety net.聽

鈥淐ensus data suggest that if it can keep you out of poverty, it is in essence a sort of social safety net,鈥� she says, citing Pew findings that young adults who live in multigenerational homes are less likely to live in poverty than those who don鈥檛. Given an aging population and entitlement programs threatened due to a budget crunch, 鈥渋t seems like family has to step in and fill a void,鈥� says Parker. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 what we鈥檙e seeing here.鈥�

But in many cases, it also means young adults are caught in a murky phase between adolescence and adulthood.

鈥淭he recession has really accelerated trends of prolonging adolescence and shifting adulthood later. If you can鈥檛 find a job, it鈥檚 difficult to establish yourself,鈥� says Parker.

In fact, as many as 3 in 10 young adults postponed marriage, starting a family, or both, due to the economy, according to the Pew report. Another third have returned to school and untold numbers have settled for a job simply to make ends meet.

鈥淏ut in spite of the trials and tribulations this generation is facing, they are extremely optimistic about the future,鈥� says Parker.

Take Owens. Because well-paying jobs are hard to come by, she says, 鈥渁 lot of people are going where their heart is and trying to have a good experience. In the past, they would have been content settling for a [traditional job]. Now no one鈥檚 willing to make pennies at a job they hate, so a lot of people are pursuing the stuff they really love.鈥�

In Owens鈥檚 case, that鈥檚 journalism and music, which the 24-year-old is exploring with internships at Philadelphia鈥檚 CITY newspaper and at R&B Records, a mecca for audiophiles, which stocks one of the country鈥檚 largest collections of 45s. Owens says she鈥檚 been 鈥渂lown away鈥� by the experience and is planning to return to graduate school soon for a master鈥檚 degree in journalism.

But as Mr. Burton and Ms. Brunner 鈥� each of whom juggles three or more part-time jobs or internships 鈥� point out, the situation for many young adults is far from ideal. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think I'd be working 3.5 part-time jobs if I nailed down one that paid well enough and was something I really enjoyed,鈥� says Brunner.

In that, Ray sees a worrisome trend in the boomerang generation.

鈥淚f the 鈥榣aunch鈥� feels blocked for too long, will this generation's optimism curdle into bitterness and skepticism?鈥� she asks, in an e-mail. 鈥淲ill a ding to their wages at an important juncture haunt them for years? Will a generation that has been told they can be and do anything 鈥� without many challenges as of yet 鈥� be resilient enough to withstand this setback?鈥� she says. 鈥淥nly time will tell.鈥�