Ties that bind: cultural interpretations of delayed adulthood in western Europe and Japan

Abstract

In the societies where "delayed departure" is common, the structural pressures leading in this direction are similar. Yet the cultural response varies considerably from one society to the next. Comparative analysis across a range of countries suggests that very similar demographic facts come to assume a different degree of significance and distinctive patterns of meaning. Indeed, the main commonality across the delayed departure countries emerges in the policy responses of their governments, which are uniformly worried about the declining birth rate. As for the ordinary citizen, the "failure to launch" varies from a social catastrophe (Japan), to a somewhat milder structural frustration (Spain), to a non-problem (Italy), while for their Nordic counterparts, the ability to launch early is taken in stride, but is accompanied by the nagging sensation that the generations don't need each other as much as perhaps they should.

Delayed Departure; Japan; Spain; Nordic Countries