The Decision Making Process of Leaving Home: A Longitudinal Analysis of Italian Young Adults Extended abstract for the Population Association of America annual meeting. New Orleans (LA) April 11-13 2013 Giulia Ferrari 1* . Alessandro Rosina 2 . Emiliano Sironi 3 Abstract It is well established that the departure from the parental home of young Italian adults occurs at a particularly late age, especially if compared to northern Europeans countries. Moreover, in Italy a large gap exists between young people’s aspirations and their subsequent realization. This study aims at understanding which factors favor or impede the behavior of leaving the family of origin, conditioning on intentions. Referring to the Theory of Planned Behavior, we analyze the issue of leaving the parental home as a mid- term decision-making process. Using data from the longitudinal survey “Family and Social Subjects”, carried out by Istat (Italian National Institute of Statistics) in 2003 and 2007, our results suggest that the determinants of actual behavior do not differ much by gender. Young women and men are both more likely to realize their intentions of residential autonomy if they are 25 years old or more and if they are employed. Only religiosity and background factors as parents’ education affect attainment differently for males and females. 1. Introduction The transition to adulthood is a multifaceted process involving several stages such as the completion of school education, the entry into the labor market, leaving the parental home, union formation and parenthood (Hogan and Astone 1986, Goldscheider and Goldscheider, 1993). Hence, leaving the parental home holds a central role in the process of family formation (Billari & Liefbroer, 2007) representing the achievement of the residential autonomy from the family of origin. Under a comparative perspective, prior research recorded a strong geographical heterogeneity in the timing (Aassve et al., 2002) and in the determinants (Iacovu, 2002) of the path toward residential independence. 1 Carlo F. Dondena Centre for Research on Social Dynamics, Bocconi University. Via G. Rontgen, 1 20136 Milan Email: giulia.ferrari@unibocconi.it * Corresponding author. 2 Department of Statistical Sciences, Catholic University. Largo Gemelli,1 20123 Milan. Email: alessandro.rosina@unicatt.it 3 Department of Statistical Sciences, Catholic University. Largo Gemelli,1 20123 Milan. Email: emiliano.sironi@unicatt.it