Returning home was once seen as something shameful but new research finds a benefit

Moving back into the parental home as an adult was once seen by many youngsters as a retrograde step and even something to be ashamed of. Now, a new study suggests that such a move actually improves the mental health of these “boomerang adults”, thanks in no small part to a stressful and increasingly expensive rental market.

The findings of of the first study in the UK to look at the mental health impact of moving home on the adult children surprised demographers at the Institute for Social and Economic Research (ISER), who were expecting to find it had the opposite effect on wellbeing.