The Problematic Process of Family Formation in Italy. A Comparison Before and After the Beginning of the Global Crisis

Leaving the family of origin and entering into parenthood are two critical steps in the family formation process. Italy, as it is well known, is a country characterized by very low fertility and strong delay in starting an independent life.
Using the data from the survey “Critical aspects in the work life course in a gender perspective” carried out by the National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT) before the global economic crisis (2007) and the data from the survey “Youth Project” carried out in the mid-2012 by the Toniolo Institute for Advanced Studies (Catholic University, Milan) and IPSOS, we analyse a common sample of Italian young adults aged between 21 and 29, in order to evaluate the effect of the Great Recession. Our study focuses on both the intentions of becoming autonomous from the family of origin and of entry into parenthood. We found empirical evidence of a relevant impact of the economic crisis on fertility expectations but not on the intentions of leaving the parental home.