Adult children who move back home to their parents end up making them miserable.
Miserable parents
A new study, by London School of Economics and Political Science, has found that parents, whose children have left home, are likely to see their quality of life and well-being fall if their offspring return to live with them.
The research looked at people aged from 50 to 75 across 17 different European countries and examined their wellbeing.
It found that the parents' quality of life decreased when an adult child moves back to their house.
The study, published in the journal Social Science and Medicine, read: ''We found that parents' experienced a decline in quality of life when one of their children returned to live with them.
''There were variations across different European regions and living arrangements.
''The findings show that returning home was correlated with a decline in parents' quality of life when there were no other children in the parental home.
''Parents enjoy their independence when their children leave the home, and refilling an empty nest may be regarded as a violation of this life course stage.''
Study author Dr Marco Tosi said: ''Our work shows that in contexts where family orientations and welfare institutions foster individuals' independence, returns home by adult children have negative implications for parents' well-being.
''When children leave the parental home, marital relationships improve and parents find a new equilibrium. They enjoy this stage in life, finding new hobbies and activities.
''When adult children move back, it is a violation of that equilibrium.''