Late nest leaving in Portugal : its effects on individuation and parent-child relationships

In Southern European countries, the number of emerging adults living with their parents is particularly high; however, the developmental and relational implications of this situation has not been yet systemically studied. Therefore, the present study aimed to (a) examine how emerging adult’s individuation process (i.e. conflictual, functional and financial independence) and the quality of parent–child relationship relationships (i.e. satisfaction and criticism) was related to emerging adult’s living arrangements and (b) investigate how the different individuation domains were associated with parent–child relationships and additionally test the moderation effect of living arrangements in this process. Four hundred and fifty-seven Portuguese emerging adults of age between 20 and 29 were assessed through self-report questionnaires. Results showed that living arrangements were associated with interpersonal forms of independence but were unrelated to the quality of parent–child relations. Moreover, distinct domains of individuation differently predicted parent–child relationships