How are UK Millennials’ co-residence status associated with their emotional and financial wellbeing?

Grace Chang , University of Southampton

Millennials are the generation which have entered adulthood during the first decade of the Millennium, having experienced the 2008 financial crisis during young adulthood, the Brexit referendum, and the pandemic. While studies have shown that co-residence with family and others can curb loneliness, such studies typically focus on older adults (i.e., in retirement) or the outcomes of parents caring for their adult children, overlooking the young adult’s wellbeing which is becoming especially important given that Millennials are more likely to co-reside with others or their parents compared to older generations. Using the UK Generations and Gender Survey which was conducted in 2022/23, I employ binary logistic regressions to examine the associations between co-residence status and emotional and financial wellbeing, including statuses of being alone and living with non-relatives. Early findings show that compared to respondents who only live with their partner, the odds for being lonely and having difficulty making ends meet is higher for those who live alone, as well as those who live with at least one non-relative, and those who live with family members. This finding suggests that being lonely may not only be associated with physical loneliness, but also emotional loneliness despite proximity. Future work will unpack the co-residence status to include parents and siblings only, and consider controlling for whether there are dependents in the household, and working household members, as well as interactions between remote working, co-residence status, and wellbeing.

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 Presented in Session 62. Family Diversity and Wellbeing