In the context of the ongoing destandardization of young people's lives, this book explores changing patterns of household formation amongst contemporary 20-somethings and the implications of these changes for the ways in which they relate to friends, parents and partners. The book points to the growing polarization between the experiences of graduates and non-graduates, and highlights changing expectations and attitudes towards intimacy and 'settling down' amongst these groups.

Researching Young People's Lives provides an overview of some of the key methodological challenges facing youth researchers and an introduction to the broad repertoire of methods used in youth-orientated research. Throughout the book, the emphasis is on research in practice, and examples are drawn from recent youth research projects from a wide range of disciplines and substantive areas, and from a range of both UK and non-UK contexts.