There is no place like home
The COVID-19 pandemic has shaken our lives on many levels. Researchers from SWPS University’s Youth Research Center investigated how it affected young people’s housing situation.
#housing transitions #transitions-to-adulthood #co-residence #COVID-19 #Poland #young people
What we researched:
- How has the COVID-19 pandemic impacted the independence and housing stability of young people. Has it influenced the process of leaving home and entering adulthood?
How we did it:
- We carried out a qualitative study of 35 young adults (ages 18–35) in large cities Poland.
- We looked at two dimensions of housing transitions in the COVID-19 era. Specifically, we studied the pre-pandemic housing situation (living with parents vs. housing autonomy) and the subjective housing situation during the pandemic (comfort vs. discomfort).
What we discovered:
- Based on the analysis, we argue that the scope of the pandemic-related disruptions in the housing situation depends on age, the individual’s economic situation, social support, and pre-pandemic housing (in)stability.
- On that basis, the four types of the housing situations have been defined: Appreciated nesting: Enjoying the comforts of being looked after, Burdensome nesting: Facing challenges with moving out, Consolidated autonomy: it is good to have one’s own place, Disrupted autonomy: facing new circumstances.
Why is it important?
- This article more broadly contributes to the typologies of housing transitions and paths (Ford et al., 2002; Gierveld et al., 1991), perhaps offering a somewhat easy-to-use or shorthand approach to the dynamic changes we are witnessing in the transitions during the COVID-19 era.