Independence Is Outdated... 6 out of 10 American Parents Financially Support Adult Children

WSJ Citing Pew Research Poll Reports
"Marriage and Employment Delayed, Period of Receiving Allowance Extended"

A survey has revealed that the period during which adult children in the United States receive financial support from their parents is gradually increasing.

On the 25th (local time), The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported the results of a survey conducted by the U.S. public opinion research firm Pew Research Center, stating that last year, 59% of American parents provided financial assistance to their young adult children aged 35 or younger. The young adult children who received financial support from their parents mainly used the money for everyday household expenses such as communication bills or subscription fees for streaming services like Netflix. Additionally, 17% of them reported receiving support for housing rent.

The photo is not related to the specific content of the article. [Image source=Pixabay]

Among the adult children aged 18 to 35 surveyed, the older the age, the higher the response indicating financial independence. Nevertheless, it was found that one-third of children aged 30 to 34 still received help from their parents.

The proportion of children living with their parents has also increased. Among adult children aged 25 or younger, 57% were found to be living with their parents, which is 4 percentage points higher than the 53% recorded about 20 years ago in 1993. Regarding this, WSJ analyzed that the younger generation is taking longer to reach milestones associated with adulthood, such as marriage and employment, resulting in a longer period of receiving financial support from parents. Along with this, WSJ noted that the parental generation is wealthier than the children’s generation, which means parents have more ability and reasons to support their children, another factor contributing to the extended period of parental financial support.

Professor Mala Lipfol of the University of Pittsburgh, who has analyzed trends in parental financial support for children over the past 20 years, also stated that the period during which children receive allowances from their parents is increasing. Professor Lipfol explained, "There is data showing that 14% of adult children have received an allowance from their parents at least once in any given year," and "Half of adult children have received financial support from their parents at some point." He added, "The proportion of adult children receiving allowances or financial support has not changed significantly over the years," but "what has changed is that adult children receive financial support from their parents for a longer period."

WSJ diagnosed that in previous generations, it was natural for children to become financially independent from their parents in their early 20s, but now the situation has changed. Unlike previous generations, the current generation of adult children requires more funds to meet the conditions necessary for independent living, such as housing independence or purchasing their first home in life.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.