Young people OK with living at home

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WASHINGTON, March 16 (UPI) -- Young Americans who moved back to their familial homes during the recession say they're feeling OK about their living arrangements, a poll indicates.

More than 75 percent of young adults ages 25 to 34 who moved back to their parents' homes within the past few years said they're satisfied with their situations, a poll by the Pew Research Center indicated.

The trend seems to be beneficial for parents as well, with nearly 50 percent of the 2,048 adults polled nationwide saying they have paid rent since moving in with their parents and 90 percent saying they have helped with household expenses.

"This suggests they're not just freeloading at home but doing something of benefit to their parents," said Kim Parker, associate director of Pew's Social and Demographic Trends Project and the author of the report released Thursday.

Parker and other experts have noted until the middle of the last century, it was customary for young people to live with their families until they formed families of their own, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Frank Furstenberg, a University of Pennsylvania sociologist, said the recent trend is not surprising.

"It's a sign that the family is functioning," Furstenberg said. "We should be much more disturbed if the family wasn't there as a safety net, and if these people were out on the streets. This is an adaptation to a difficult time."

The Pew poll was conducted Dec. 6-19 and has a margin of error of 2.9 percentage points.