Ramina Sotoudeh, Ginevra Floridi
Sociological Science November 25, 2025
10.15195/v12.a33
Abstract
In the United States, the financial and co-residential dependence of young adults on parents has increased for decades. This study provides the first comprehensive analysis of economic support trajectories, their contextual, family, and individual determinants, and temporal relation to other transition to adulthood milestones. Using data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics’ Transition to Adulthood Study (2005–2021), we identify trajectories of financial and co-residential support between ages 18 and 28 and relate them to economic and partnership trajectories and events. We study how macro-economic crises (the Great Recession and COVID-19), family characteristics, and individual traits within sibships predict trajectory membership. We find three distinct pathways: first, prolonged education and financial support are more common among advantaged families and, within siblings, among those exposed to the Great Recession. Second, early employment and prolonged co-residence are the most prevalent among disadvantaged families and children. Third, economic independence through marriage is most common among white people living outside metropolitan areas.
In the United States, the financial and co-residential dependence of young adults on parents has increased for decades. This study provides the first comprehensive analysis of economic support trajectories, their contextual, family, and individual determinants, and temporal relation to other transition to adulthood milestones. Using data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics’ Transition to Adulthood Study (2005–2021), we identify trajectories of financial and co-residential support between ages 18 and 28 and relate them to economic and partnership trajectories and events. We study how macro-economic crises (the Great Recession and COVID-19), family characteristics, and individual traits within sibships predict trajectory membership. We find three distinct pathways: first, prolonged education and financial support are more common among advantaged families and, within siblings, among those exposed to the Great Recession. Second, early employment and prolonged co-residence are the most prevalent among disadvantaged families and children. Third, economic independence through marriage is most common among white people living outside metropolitan areas.
 | This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. |
Supplemental Materials
Reproducibility Package: Replication code for this article can be accessed here: https://github.com/raminasotoudeh/pathways_to_independence/tree/main
- Citation: Sotoudeh, Ramina, Ginevra Floridi. 2025. “Pathways to Independence: The Dynamics of Parental Support in the Transition to Adulthood” Sociological Science 12: 833-861.
- Received: July 9, 2025
- Accepted: August 25, 2025
- Editors: Arnout van de Rijt, Michael Rosenfeld
- DOI: 10.15195/v12.a33