The Accordion Family: Boomerang Kids, Anxious Parents, and the

The Accordion Family: Boomerang Kids, Anxious Parents, and the Private Toll of Global Competition

Why are adults in their twenties and thirties stuck in their parentsâ€™ homes in the worldâ€™s wealthiest countries?
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Thereâ€™s no question that globalization has drastically changed the cultural landscape across the world. The cost of living is rising, and high unemployment rates have created an untenable economic climate that has severely compromised the path to adulthood for young people in their twenties and thirties. And thereâ€™s no end in sight. Families are hunkering down, expanding the reach of their households to envelop economically vulnerable young adults. Acclaimed sociologist Katherine Newman explores the trend toward a rising number of â€œaccordion familiesâ€ composed of adult children who will be living off their parentsâ€™ retirement savings with little means of their own when the older generation is gone.
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While the trend crosses the developed world, the cultural and political responses to accordion families differ dramatically. In Japan, there is a sense of horror and fear associated with â€œparasite singles,â€ whereas in Italy, the â€œcult of mammismo,â€ or mammaâ€™s boys, is common and widely accepted, though the government is rallying against it. Meanwhile, in Spain, frustrated parents and millenials angrily blame politicians and big business for the growing number of youth forced to live at home.
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Newmanâ€™s investigation, conducted in six countries, transports the reader into the homes of accordion families and uncovers fascinating links between globalization and the failure-to-launch trend. Drawing from over three hundred interviews, Newman concludes that nations with weak welfare states have the highest frequency of accordion families while the trend is virtually unknown in the Nordic countries. The United States is caught in between. But globalization is reshaping the landscape of adulthood everywhere, and the consequences are far-reaching in our private lives. In this gripping and urgent book, Newman urges Americans not to simply dismiss the boomerang generation but, rather, to strategize how we can help the younger generation make its own place in the world.
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From the Hardcover edition.
Country USA
Brand Beacon Press
Manufacturer Beacon Press
Binding Paperback
ItemPartNumber Illustrated
Color Silver
ReleaseDate 2013-01-29
UnitCount 1
Format Illustrated
EANs 9780807007457

Country	USA
Brand	Beacon Press
Manufacturer	Beacon Press
Binding	Paperback
ItemPartNumber	Illustrated
Color	Silver
ReleaseDate	2013-01-29
UnitCount	1
Format	Illustrated
EANs	9780807007457

The Accordion Family: Boomerang Kids, Anxious Parents, and the Private Toll of Global Competition

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