This book examines the reasons why children ultimately leave home to live on their own and how the pattern has changed throughout the 20th century. The authors make use of data from the National Survey of Families and Households to: construct patterns for when children leave home; and establish the most important criteria for leaving home amongst different groups in the United States - men, women, blacks, hispanics, whites, and different religious groups and social classes.

Leaving and Returning Home in 20th Century America
Leaving and Returning Home 20th Century America
Out of the Nest
Back to the Nest
Runaways and Stay-at-Homes
The Changing Role of Regional Communities
Who Left Whom? The Effects of Childhood Family Structure
Sons and Daughters
Leaving and Returning to the Feathered Nest
The Shifting Ethnic Mosaic
Religious Transformation and Family Values
What Is New in Nest-Leaving in 20th Century America?