Family Life Cycle the Stage

Family Life Cycle

The stage of the family life cycle where initial young adults begin the process of individuation is essential to individual and eventually family level functioning as it is at this point that the individual is seeking to develop his or her own family and self. In western culture a great deal of importance is place upon this concept and this period of life and much attention is applied to those who "fail" or remain in the original family unit for periods that surpass what is considered the norm, 18-25 and instead remain in their family of origin without obtaining financial, social, and emotional independence beyond those years. This concept is typically applied to the social work practice in both aiding individuals to reach this "normal" pinnacle of growth, through independence and in aiding those who have not done so at an average age or whom have returned home for any number of reasons. Seiffge-Krenke in fact notes that leaving home early or late had less to do with age and much more to do with developmental task progression, and to some degree parental support. When parental support is in place, i.e. assistance getting a job, transportation and even household furnishings was much more likely to aide individuals in leaving home, at any age. (2009, p. 238) the reader will find that this work discusses the family life cycle transition "leaving home" as a variable issue in both the primary and contrasting cultural settings. The foundation of the findings are that the age of "normalcy" for the event of leaving home and becoming independent adults is fluctuating on a continual basis and can be a result of many factors including but not limited to the relationship one has with the family of origin and particularly the parents, financial issues, issues associated with tradition and/or a rejection of it and the ability of one to function as a single adult, as more and more people are doing so in western and other cultures. Ultimately the issue becomes one of developmental task progression, when certain developmental tasks, often having to do with parental support are achieved individuals no matter their age often pass through this stage of family life cycle. (Seiffge-Krenke, 2009)

The fierce sense of independence and autonomy associated with U.S. culture has in part contributed to the impetus for individuals to leave the family home, separate themselves from the original family, develop their own community awareness and belonging, have intimate relationships with life partners and ultimately have children and begin their own family. (an, Mertig & Liu, 2003, pp. 419-421) "Adolescents leaving their parental homes has been viewed as a normal and natural phenomenon in Western societies & #8230;, as it signifies economic independence, personal responsibility, and emotional separation from parents & #8230;" (an, Mertig & Liu, 2003, pp. 415-416) Yet, it is also fundamentally challenged in real life by children in western culture leaving home at older ages or returning home after leaving. Despite years of emphasis on this stage of family development and the norms surrounding the ideation of success and/or failure having to do largely with the event of leaving home and becoming independent, children in the U.S., some say as a result of the current financial crisis are leaving home later or returning more frequently for extended periods. (Martantz Henig, 2010)

This emphasis on autonomy also seems to have become a common factor in other cultures as a result of westernization, where even in cultures, such as rural China adolescents leaving home at younger ages has become desirable, rather than young adults leaving home upon marriage or financial security attainment, and living with parents and/or grandparents in extended families for longer periods. (an, Mertig & Liu, 2003, pp. 419-421) the age differentiation of leaving home in-time or too young or too old can also according to some be associated with les healthy parental relationships and limitations in socialization that might either leave the individual seeking autonomy early or late such as patterns of religion or romantic relationships are also key factors in this stage. (Seiffge-Krenke, 2006, p. 864) Most importantly it is interesting to compare non-western standards changes on this issue in a direct comparison between cultures. In a study conducted in rural China, where an emerging trend for leaving home in adolescence is challenging the environment an, Mertig & Liu discuss their findings:

In summary, we found that (1) a person's tendency toward individualism is primarily impacted by his/her parents and perceived resource availability, with little impact from peers. This is somewhat inconsistent with findings in Western countries. (2) a person's attitudes towards leaving the parental home (an issue more specific than individualism) are primarily shaped by his/her tendency toward individualism, and perceived adverse effects. This conclusion is consistent with the findings of Gierveld et al. (1991). Parental attitude and behavior have insignificant impacts on adolescents' attitudes, while peers' behaviors have opposite influences on men and women. (3) a person's intention to leave the parental home and live independently is more complex, depending on both his/her preferences / attitudes and the perceived resource availability for so doing (especially for women), as suggested by Gierveld et al. (1991). (an, Mertig & Liu, 2003, p. 440)

This life cycle concept is applicable in western culture as the historical emphasis on the pinnacle of success surrounding young adulthood is independence from the family. There is also less evidence that such decisions are being made based on coupling, i.e. more young adults are leaving home prior to their marriage or long-term relationship development. In other words more young adults are living single, even if the age of leaving home is either lower or higher than the average. There is some sense that the trend noted by Martantz Henig (2010) has something to do with this challenge, living alone is lonely and wholly unlike living with a family, no matter your age or developmental level and it is also more costly than most expect.