Abstract
The purpose of this study was to understand the articulation of dialogues during the emerging adult's leaving home process including the problematization and tensions involved. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 10 middle-class young adults, aged 26 to 36, who still lived with their parents in the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Several categories emerged from the content analysis, among which three are presented in this article: apprehension concerning the relational space, agreements and negotiations, and the perceptions of leaving the parental home. It was verified that leaving the parental home is a dynamic process negotiated between family members. It became evident that the gains and losses from living together for a long period of time are part of an ambivalent relational environment. The time necessary for the development of parent-children relationship cannot be determined chronologically since it is the time necessary for the subjects to understand themselves at a relational level.
Keywords:
Ambivalence; Family relations; Parent-child relation.