Failure to launch

Failure to launch informally refers to dependent young emerging adults who are unsuccessful in transitioning into societal requirements of adulthood. Characterization of this group in some Western societies includes those living with and reliant on their parents, those with an avoidance of higher education, and those unable to contribute financially through employment; independence and self-sufficiency are valued.[1][2] Given the large variation within Western countries with regard to acceptable living with parents and other interpretations of adulthood, failure to launch has been considered as oversimplified or insufficient terminology.[3][4]

For the film, see Failure to Launch.

Definition

The term is associated with the elongation of the period of emerging adults.[5] That is, there is a "delay" in "transition of young adults from parental dependence to economic self-sufficiency" according to Bell et al.[6][7] Failure to launch, or FTL, has been used for "adult children living at home and highly dependent on parents".[1] Over-simplistic narratives of this colloquialism and stereotype have been critically challenged.[8][9] The expression has been used as a non-pejorative.[1] It is not a medical "syndrome" or clinical condition.[10][11]

Causes

There is a lack of research on the topic.[12] A number of psychological reasons, individual choices and economic reasons have been postulated.[12] Some early signals include social avoidance, acute introversion and lack of engagement with responsibilities.[13] Some causes suggested are parents and children falling into the "dependency trap" or "accommodation trap", that of reinforcing a young adult's dependency by providing accommodation.[13] Parents also have a role to play in the transition to adulthood.[14]

Failure to launch at inflection points

A "delay" in the transition of young adults occurs when a transition is expected: from high school to university, or from university to career. A high school graduate who fails in college, or refuses to go to college, is unwilling or unable to make the transition. A university graduate who has difficulty making the change to the working world may lack the needed skills or confidence.

One approach that has been suggested is the structured gap year for young adults. Gap years have been shown to improve outcomes for high-achieving medical students.[15]

Similar concepts

An acute version of this is hikikomori in Japan.[12] According to a Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare guideline, hikikomori is "a situation where a person without psychosis is withdrawn into his/her home for more than six months and does not participate in society such as attending school and/or work".[16] Boomerang children is a term for those who have returned home after leaving.[17] It has also been referred to as the philosophical Peter Pan syndrome.[18]

History

Failure to launch, in the context of economic self-sufficiency, was identified in Europe in the 1980s, mainly in Germany and Italy, and to a significantly lesser extent in the United States.[12][6] An indicator of independence or economic self-sufficiency is identified as those who identify as a "household head".[6] A general decline in headship, that is, a decline in the capacity to form independent households, among young adults was seen in Belgium, Canada, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom, and the United States from 1984 to 2000.[6] For the first time since the 1880s, living with parents was the most common living arrangement for 18 to 34 year olds in the United States in 2014;[19] according to the Pew Research Center living with parents is becoming more common.[7][20] The United States is seeing a structural shift through the creation of new phases in the job-learning lifecycle.[21]

See also

References
  1. Lebowitz, Eli R. (2017). ""Failure to Launch": Shaping Intervention for Highly Dependent Adult Children". Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. 56 (3): 187–188. doi:10.1016/j.jaac.2017.01.002. ISSN 0890-8567. PMC 5504878. PMID 28219483. Also see: Yale University (2 March 2022). "Parental Guidance for Parents of Highly Dependent Adult Children" – via ClinicalTrials.gov.
  2. Kins, Evie; Beyers, Wim (2010). "Failure to Launch, Failure to Achieve Criteria for Adulthood?". Journal of Adolescent Research. 25 (5): 743–777. doi:10.1177/0743558410371126. hdl:1854/LU-955090. ISSN 0743-5584. S2CID 146738325.
  3. Allen, Peter (30 November 2016). "Emerging Adulthood is a Safer Approach". All Kinds of Therapy. Retrieved 20 May 2022.
  4. Gardner, Jane (12 November 2015). "Crowded house as kids fail to launch". Pursuit. Retrieved 20 May 2022.
  5. Mykyta, Laryssa (2012). "Economic Downturns and the Failure to Launch: The Living Arrangements of Young Adults in the U.S. 1995-2011" (PDF). U.S. Census Bureau. SEHSD Working Paper 2012-24.
  6. Bell, Lisa; Burtless, Gary; Gornick, Janet; Smeeding, Timothy M. (2007). Failure to launch: Cross-national trends in the transition to economic independence (Working paper). Luxembourg Income Study (LIS). pp. 2, 4, 5, 16. LIS Working Paper Series No. 456.
  7. Banschick, Mark (17 March 2020). "Failure to Launch: What It Is and How to Handle It". Psychology Today. Retrieved 19 May 2022.
  8. Hyde, Emma (27 April 2022). "'Failure to launch'? Stereotypes around youth transitions to adulthood : Northern Notes". Northern Notes. University of Leeds. Retrieved 20 May 2022.
  9. Williams, Christina (2015). Failure to Launch? Understanding Variations in Emerging Adult Flight Patterns (MA thesis). University of Arkansas – via ScholarWorks.
  10. "Failure to Launch Syndrome is not a Syndrome". All Kinds of Therapy. 2 November 2016. Retrieved 19 May 2022.
  11. "Failure to Launch Treatment Program for Young Adults (Ages 17 - 28)". Optimum Performance Institute. Retrieved 20 May 2022.
  12. Liddon, Louise; Barry, John (2021). Perspectives in Male Psychology: An Introduction. John Wiley & Sons. pp. 81–82. ISBN 978-1-119-68536-4.
  13. Paul, Sean (16 June 2020). "Launching Late: How to Help Your Child with Failure to Launch". Psych Central. Retrieved 19 May 2022.
  14. "Failure to Launch: Parents are barriers to teen independence". Michigan Medicine. University of Michigan. 22 July 2019. Retrieved 21 May 2022.
  15. Haron, Rashid; Kibble, Jonathan (2021). "Understanding Reasons for Electing Gap Years Between Undergraduate Education and Medical School and the Perceived Impact of Gap Years on the Student Experience of Medical Education: An Interview Study". The FASEB Journal. 35. doi:10.1096/fasebj.2021.35.S1.02720. S2CID 236547263.
  16. Kato, Takahiro A.; Kanba, Shigenobu; Teo, Alan R. (2018). "Hikikomori: experience in Japan and international relevance". World Psychiatry. 17 (1): 105–106. doi:10.1002/wps.20497. ISSN 1723-8617. PMC 5775123. PMID 29352535.
  17. Burn, Katherine; Szoeke, Cassandra (2016). "Boomerang families and failure-to-launch: Commentary on adult children living at home". Maturitas. 83: 9–12. doi:10.1016/j.maturitas.2015.09.004. ISSN 0378-5122. PMID 26597141.
  18. Hendriksen, Ellen (18 May 2019). "Failure to Launch Syndrome". Scientific American. Retrieved 20 May 2022.
  19. Fry, Richard (24 May 2016). "For First Time in Modern Era, Living With Parents Edges Out Other Living Arrangements for 18- to 34-Year-Olds". Pew Research Center. Retrieved 21 May 2022.
  20. Fry, Richard (5 May 2017). "It's becoming more common for young adults to live at home – and for longer stretches". Pew Research Center. Retrieved 21 May 2022.
  21. Carnevale, Anthony P.; Hanson, Andrew R.; Gulish, Artem (September 2013). "Failure to Launch: Structural Shift and the New Lost Generation". Center on Education and the Workforce. Georgetown University. Retrieved 21 May 2022.

Further reading

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