This generation of young adults has sometimes been labeled the “boomerang generation” for its proclivity to move out of the family home for a time and then come right back.

About a quarter (24%) of all young adults ages 18 to 34 say they have moved back in with their parents in recent years (after living on their own for a time) because of economic conditions.

Young adults who view this move an economic necessity have a more negative view of how this living arrangement has affected their relationship with their parents. Among those who say they have boomeranged, 25% say it was good for their relationship, 24% say it was bad and 50% say it hasn’t made a difference.

Some young adults were already living at home for reasons that may or may not be related to the weak economy. The youngest adults – those ages 18 to 24 — are more likely to fall into this category. Four-in-ten members of this age group currently live with their parents, and the vast majority say they did not move back home because of economic conditions. In fact many of them may have never moved out in the first place. Only 12% of adults ages 25 to 34 currently live with their parents, but another 17% say they have moved back home temporarily because of economic conditions.

The views of young adults who are living with parents but didn’t cite the economy as a reason the economy are much more positive. Nearly half of these young adults say that this living arrangement has been good for their relationship. Only 8% view the consequences as negative, and 44% say it hasn’t made a difference. Read More

Russell Heimlich  is a former web developer at Pew Research Center.