Young adults living apart and together (LAT) with parents: a three level analysis of the Italian case

Abstract

In this paper we introduce the notion of living apart together (LAT) with one's parents as a status in the transition to adulthood. We define LAT with parents as the situation in which young adults who reside with their parents spend a significant amount of that time living outside the parental household. We describe young adults who LAT with parents and analyse the determinants of LAT with reference to Italy. We document the relevance of this phenomenon for Italy, a country with one of the highest share of young adults cohabiting with parents and with fundamental subnational differences both on higher education provision and in labour market situation. We analyse official survey and census data and we use a multilevel statistical model to analyse the determinants of the LAT choice, with individuals, households, and municipalities as levels.