Sociologist Albert Bell says family is important to the Maltese.

The fact that almost half of those aged 25 to 34 live with their parents reflects family attachments and bonds despite an increasingly liberal and secular society, according to a leading sociologist.

Malta came fourth highest in a recent list of Western countries assessing the age at which young adults fly the nest.

It is only surpassed by Slovakia, at 56.6 per cent, Bulgaria, 52.8 per cent, and Greece at 51.6 per cent.

Sociologist Albert Bell said this could be a combination of sociological, geographical and economic aspects.

While in northern European countries young people are expected to seek independence and live alone, in Malta parents “still have that sense of protection and young people are less inclined to venture out on their own, leading to protracted transitions from youth to adulthood”.

“While it is changing a bit, young people in Malta are still very much close to the family,” Dr Bell said.

In Malta, parents are still willing to sacrifice a lot for their children

According to data compiled by Eurostat and UK and US statistics, 48.9 per cent of young adults in Malta live with their family.

“In the UK, parents anticipate the empty nest syndrome by the time their offspring are 16 years old. In Malta, parents are still willing to sacrifice a lot for their children,” Dr Bell noted.

This highlighted a somewhat “traditionalistic mindset”, he added, as did the fact that the “sense of family” overrode everything.

“If you take Sundays, for example, they are still very much a family day.”

The protection of children is still a priority despite an increasingly liberal and secular society, he said.

“We can only foresee certain trends: you look at what happened in other countries and you can see we do have an increasingly liberal mindset coming to the fore.”

In contrast to Malta’s 48.9 per cent of 20 to 30-somethings living at home, in Denmark the proportion is only 1.8 per cent.

Dr Bell thinks Malta’s size has an impact: it is the smallest country on the list.

“The island’s geography does not necessitate moving for jobs or for study, so that is also a factor.”

The cost of living also needs to be taken into consideration. Daniel Azzopardi, 28, said he was still living with his parents for financial reasons. “I would like to save to buy a house rather than rent and, if I rent, it will take me longer to buy,” he said.

Mr Azzopardi said that Maltese parents did not culturally encourage their children to move out. “It is still considered unorthodox to move out unless you are getting married.”

Jonathan Mallia, 36, moved out on his own when he was 30. “But even so, I did it gradually, spending a couple of days a week at my parents’ and the rest at the flat I was sharing with my mates. That way it was easier on my parents,” he said.

Some young adults opt to get their own place after living abroad for some time.

“I spent a year abroad and then, when I came back, I decided it was time to move out on my own,” said Pablo Kulboer, 28. He said taking care of the tedious daily tasks was the most difficult adjustment .

The statistics show that staying at home is more prevalent in predominantly Catholic or Mediterranean countries than in Scandinavian countries, indicating differing attitudes towards marriage and cohabitation. According to Dr Bell, the Nordic culture is based on a more individualistic ethos influenced by Protestant values, which advance the notion that you have to work in order to gain advancement in spiritual life, but Catholicism emphasises the community bonds.

“The family nucleus is more intact in countries like ours,” he said.

Three decades ago, Maltese couples used to get married in their early 20s but the average marriage age is now 30 for men and 27 for women.

“All over Europe, we are talking about extended youth transition. This further compounds things in Malta. Perhaps we are slightly more spoilt,” said Dr Bell.

However, he insisted, we should not consider other countries to be superior. “We’re just different: we should as a nation and as a society embrace what we are and our community bonds.”