Exiting and Returning to the Parental Home for Boomerang Kids.

Young adults commonly exit from and return to the parental home, yet few studies have examined the motivation behind these exits and returns using a life course framework. Using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997, the authors examined associations between mental health problems and economic characteristics and exits from (n = 8,162), and returns to (n = 6,530), the parental home during the transition to adulthood. The average age of the respondents was 24 years.

Commitment across the Transition to Parenthood among Married and Cohabiting Couples.

Commitment has long been hypothesized to increase across the transition to parenthood, even though much research has found that relationship functioning declines during this period. We examined change in interpersonal commitment, measured as personal dedication and relationship confidence, and constraint commitment, measured as felt constraint, across the transition to parenthood. We tested for marital status differences in the change in commitment across the transition among three groups: cohabitation, marriage preceded by cohabitation, and direct marriage.

Casual sexual relationships and mental health in adolescence and emerging adulthood.

Casual sexual relationships are relatively common in emerging adulthood. Yet the mental health implications of engaging in these relationships are unclear; past research has found negative associations, positive associations, or no association with mental health. In addition, little research has accounted for mental health status prior to entering casual sexual relationships.