Mastery, Homeownership, and the Transition to Adulthood

Abstract

Using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth – Young Adult Sample (N = 1,609), I investigate the relationship between homeownership and mastery in the transition to adulthood. Also, I examine whether homeownership qualifies the effects of three important adult transitions: employment, marriage/cohabitation, and parenthood. Change model estimations show that, net of controls, homeownership increases the sense of mastery among young adults. With respect to other transitions, homeownership moderates employment such that homeowners who are unemployed receive a boost to mastery not experienced by those who are employed. Finally, homeownership raises the mastery of parents, while there is little benefit to those who are childless.