The rocky road to adulthood

American Demographics, May, 1996 by Marcia Mogelonsky

It may be cold comfort to parents who look forward to grandchildren's toys around the house to find instead the detritus of post-adolescence. Knowing that this transitional state is usually a stopgap measure may soften the blow. "The majority of those who return home see it as a transitional phase - a hiatus - while they try to figure out what to do next," says Frances Goldscheider.

As more and more young adults return to the nest as a deliberate step on the path toward their future, the phenomenon is losing its stigma as a last resort of the insecure and irresponsible. What looks on the surface like a denial of adulthood is taking shape as a bridge to true maturity. Maybe the kids are more grown up than we thought.

Marcia Mogelonsky is a contributing editor of American Demographics.

Young

Graduates

Still Ask:

In the 1967 film The Graduate, Dustin Hoffman epitomized the baby-boom generation's angst about leaving the familiar world of school for the unknown of adulthood instead of looking for a job, young graduate Ben Braddock spends the summer lolling around his parents' swimming pool and setting his sights on less lucrative, albert more intriguing, romantic goals. The movie may be almost 30 years old, but for many newly minted Generation X graduates, the sentiments are the same. Now what?

When baby boomers were leaving college, the traditional European "Grand Tour" was a viable option. For some, it is still the best way to recover from years of college study. But high airfares and shifting fortunes here and abroad have made this option riskier in the 1990s than in the 1960s. Today, other alternatives exist for those who need a break between college and "real life."

For those with a social conscience, an almost endless array of charitable organizations accept volunteers. The Peace Corps, a U.S. governmental agency established by President John F. Kennedy in 1961, places volunteers in a number of countries around the world. Another alternative is Interns for Peace (with U.S.head-quarters in New York), an independent, nonpolitical, community-sponsored program dedicated to building trust and respect among the Jewish and Arab citizens of Israel. The group requires a two-year commitment in exchange for housing and a monthly stipend for food, transportation, and other daily living expenses. The Washington, D.C.-based International Voluntary Services, whose volunteers provide technical assistance to local organizations in Asia, southern Africa, and South America, also requires a two-year commitment in trade for travel expenses, health insurance, and a stipend.

Young adults don't have to go abroad to do good. Habitat for Humanity International, based in Americus, Georgia, was founded in 1976 by Millard and Linda Fuller as a nonprofit, ecumenical Christian housing ministry to provide affordable housing for all. Full-time volunteer positions have no salary but a small stipend and voluntary opportunities require work only on weekends. Some of the projects may even be in your own community." Habitat has more than 1,000 active affiliates in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Young people who work with this organization could be literally constructive and still live at home.