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Abstract

The doctoral thesis has two main topics: How does the transition from childhood and reliance on parents to independent adulthood take place for young Norwegians? Furthermore, in todayö‚'s comprehensive Norwegian welfare state, what role does the family play for young people in this life-phase? Two key hypotheses within the social sciences form the starting point for the analysis. First, the individualization hypothesis, which envisages increasing differentiation and unpredictability of life histories as people make life-choices more based on their own particular situation and less as a result of their position in the social structure. Second, the crowding-out hypothesis, which expects comprehensive welfare states not only to limit the actual exchanges of support within families, but also to weaken feelings of solidarity and commitment between family members. Several European studies indicate that the transition to adulthood has become more difficult in recent decades. There has been mounting concern for young peopleö‚'s situation. One of the main findings of this doctoral thesis is that such worries seem groundless in the case of Norway. Compared to other European states - particularly the Mediterranean states - Norway has had a remarkably high degree of stability in the age of attaining residential independence and the age of partnering, as well as in fertility rates. Even though we find the highest percentage with a strained economic situation among the youngest households, the variation from older households is relatively modest. Financial difficulties are primarily related to two specific conditions of young adulthood - being a student and being single. Another main conclusion is that the willingness of parents to help their young adult children financially has not been reduced as a consequence of expanding welfare provision. On the contrary, in the last decades parental support has increased. Many parents appear to consider giving financial assistance to children - particularly in the first phase after they move into independent households - as an extension of their responsibility from when the children were still living under the same roof. Extensive contact and strong feelings of intimacy between the two generations also reveal that parents occupy a central place in their childrenö‚'s lives even after the youngest generation has started an independent adult existence.

Hvordan forløper overgangen fra barndom til et selvstendig voksenliv for unge nordmenn? Hvilken rolle spiller familien i de unges etableringsfase i en godt utbygd velferdsstat som den norske? Dette er de to hovedtemaene i avhandlingen. Analysen tar utgangspunkt i to sentrale samfunnsvitenskapelige hypoteser: Den første er individualiseringstesen, som forutsier økende variasjon og uforutsigbarhet i individers livsløp ettersom de oftere tar beslutninger med utgangspunkt i egen situasjon, og mindre på bakgrunn av klassetilhørighet og andre strukturelle forhold. Den andre er erstatningshypotesen, som spår at en omfattende velferdsstat vil begrense ikke bare familiens reelle oppgaver, men også følelser av forpliktelse mellom familiemedlemmer.En hovedkonklusjon i analysen er at etableringsfasen i Norge på flere punkter utviser en bemerkelsesverdig høy grad av stabilitet sammenliknet med en del av de andre vesteuropeiske landene. Det store flertallet av unge nordmenn klarer seg også bra økonomisk. En annen hovedkonklusjon er at foreldrenes tilbøyelighet til å stille opp økonomisk for barna i etableringsfasen ikke er blitt redusert de siste tiårene, i takt med utbyggingen av den norske velferdsstaten. Tvert imot har etableringsstøtten økt. Mange foreldre ser ut til å oppleve det å hjelpe barna økonomisk, i hvert fall den første tiden etter utflyttingen, som en forlengelse av ansvaret de har for barna mens de bor hjemme.