Although residence patterns during the
transition to adulthood are dynamic and have a high influence on subjective
well-being, empirical studies are scarce, especially with regard to
international comparisons. The way living arrangements during the transition to
adulthood are normatively framed in bilinear, neolocal kinship cultures is very
different from the way they are framed in patrilineal, patrilocal cultures.
Thus, living arrangements such as living alone, living with parents and
especially living with in-laws should correspond to varying levels of
well-being depending on the culture. Based on panel data (National Longitudinal
Survey of Youth – NLSY97, German Panel Analysis of Intimate Relationships and
Family Dynamics, Japanese Life Course Panel Survey and China Family Panel
Studies), we analyzed the levels of subjective well-being of young adults aged
20–35 in households of varying family composition across cultures and over
time. Differences between patrilineal, patrilocal kinship systems in Japan and
China and bilineal, neolocal kinship systems in Germany and the United States
became evident in lower levels of subjective well-being of young adults in
China and Japan than in Germany and the United States, when living alone or in
single-parent families. Germany and the United States were similar in their
strong gender differences in subjective well-being, with young women showing a
much lower level than men, but differed with regard to the variation by
coresidence type, which was higher in the United States than in Germany. Gender
differences in Japan and China were related to living in extended households,
which resulted in very low levels of subjective well-being for young women,
whereas the impact was small in China. Despite the differences in kinship
systems, institutional regulations, and opportunity structures, living in a
nuclear family of procreation was associated with the highest level of
subjective well-being for young men and women in all four countries.
