Leaving Home After High School: Links to Adolescents’ Education, Motivation, and Relationship With Parents

Despite a trend of young adults delaying home-leaving, many still move out after high school, especially to attend university. Yet, knowledge on the predictors of home-leaving after high school is limited. This pre-registered study examined individual and family factors predicting home-leaving after high school among 333 Turkish adolescents (Mage=17.68 (0.52), 65% female), all living with parents at the study’s start. They were surveyed over two time points 18 months apart between 2017 and 2019. Findings showed that motivation to leave, attending a private high school, and university enrollment were associated with moving out of parental home roughly one year after high school graduation. Among parent-child relationship factors, only paternal autonomy support influenced the likelihood of home-leaving, with higher levels of fathers’ autonomy support linked to living with parents longer. Our findings indicate the multifaceted nature of home-leaving in a family-oriented culture as well as the noteworthy role of fathers’ autonomy support in the transition. This prospective study enabled us to track how individual and family factors in adolescence influenced later home-leaving. Motivation, private high school attendance, and university enrollment predicted home-leaving in a family-oriented culture. Higher levels of fathers’ autonomy support were related to living with parents after high school graduation. Home-leaving in a family-oriented culture reflects individual, familial, and cultural dynamics shaping this life transition.