Family Support during the Transition to Adulthood. Policy Brief #3

Robert Schoeni and Karen Ross, in their chapter in "On the Frontier of Adulthood," examine several issues related to this material support: how much time and money youth receive from their parents between the ages of 18 and 34, the difference in support between high and low-income families, and the changing patterns of support over the last 30 years. In one of the first empirical attempts to estimate the amount of assistance that children receive during young adulthood, the authors find that parents contribute, on average, $2,200 annually over the 17-year period, and that this support has increased substantially in the last decades. (Contains 3 figures.)