Leaving home, family support and intergenerational ties in Italy: Some regional differences

In Italy young people leave home at a high age. After leaving, they usually live close to their parents and receive strong support from them (both material and affective). These behaviours are not homogenously spread across the country and important regional differences can be found. According to the familistic theoretical approach, such patterns come from strong intergenerational ties. Proximity and support are considered proxies of ties’ strength, so that different regional proximity and support patterns correspond to different ties’ intensities. This study aims to analyze the associations among parent-child ties, proximity and support, and to explore similarities and differences among them in four selected Italian regions (Liguria, Umbria, Sicily and Sardinia). Results show important differences among regions with respect to proximity and support, and suggest that they reflect a different intensity of intergenerational ties. 1 The two authors share the general views expressed in the paper, the comments of the results and the conclusions. However, sections 1 to 4 and 7 were edited mainly by E. Santarelli, sections 5 and 6 by F. Cottone. 2 PhD in Demography. E-mail: [email protected]. 3 PhD in Statistics. E-mail: [email protected]. Santarelli & Cottone: Leaving home, family support, and intergenerational ties in Italy http://www.demographic-research.org 2