Photo: Steve Debenport (Getty)
Things happen. Problems arise and sometimes adults find themselves having to move back in with mom and dad. And while mom and dad will say, “you always have a home here. You know this.” The reality is that they probably hate your guts for moving back in, taking over the TV and interrupting them when they’re trying to watch Property Brothers. And guess what? A study backs that up.
According to a study done by academics at the London School of Economics and Political Science, adult children who move back home simply make their parents miserable. According to the research, parents may see their quality of life and wellbeing decline if their offspring come back to live with them. In other words, you’re killing your folks.
The research looked at people aged between 50 and 75 from 17 European countries. They examined parents’ wellbeing by looking at factors such as health, aging and retirement. The researchers concluded a mother and fathers’ quality of life decreased when one of their offspring moved back. The study, published in the journal Social Science and Medicine, says: “We found that parents’ experienced a decline in quality of life when one of their children returned to live with them.”
There were variations across different European regions and living arrangements, it adds. It also says: “The findings show that returning home was correlated with a decline in parents’ quality of life when there were no other children in the parental home. Parents enjoy their independence when their children leave the home, and refilling an empty nest may be regarded as a violation of this life course stage. Their quality of life was measured and scored by taking into consideration ‘feelings of control, autonomy, pleasure and self-realization in everyday life.”
Man, that’s just depressing.
And here’s what study author Dr Marco Tosi said:
“When children leave the parental home, marital relationships improve and parents find a new equilibrium. They enjoy this stage in life, finding new hobbies and activities. When adult children move back, it is a violation of that equilibrium.”
Now of course this isn’t the case for everyone as some folks enjoy having their children around. But it does seem for the most part mom and dad don’t want you sleeping in your childhood bed in a room that is right next to theirs. Sorry if you’re an adult living with your parents and you happened to read this.
