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Extended Present, Faltering Future

Marriage and parenthood have traditionally been the primary indicators of adulthood in Western societies: marriage used to be the only socially and morally acceptable way of forming a household of one's own and having an intimate relationship. Today, there is a tendency among young people in Western countries to postpone or even reject family formation, especially marriage and parenthood. Financial independence and self-reliance have taken over from marriage and parenthood as the principal markers of adulthood. However, prolonged periods of education and erratic labour markets tend to complicate the attainment of such independence. The more difficult it is for people to achieve independence, the longer they will postpone family formation and parenthood. In spite of the common trends, there still remain national and regional differences, particularly between northern and southern Europe. In southern countries such as Spain, marriage is still the principal avenue to an independent adult life, whereas in northern countries like Finland, it is common for young people to live independently on their own before they set up a family. How easy or difficult it is to gain independence and to form a family and how salient the role of the family institution is for attaining adult status, depend on various social and cultural factors.