Giovani quasi adulti. Lo spazio-tempo paterno nella logica generazionale

This study explored fatherhood and, as a consequence, motherhood using a set of interviews with a focus on young adult offspring (age range: 23-27 years). Findings showed a somewhat unexpected family scenario: Fathers – contrary to the stereotype of an authoritarian-punitive figure or, in contrast, a weak-absent figure – take on the shared (family) mistrustful anxiety towards the social context. For their part, mothers search for connections between the inside and the outside of the family, but with an increasing apprehension and impasse. Within this framework, the youth’s educational experience is "prolonged", while gender differences – also in terms of attentions being paid to offspring – are overall absent.