Traditionally, children have lived in their parents' homes until they were married and ready to start their own families. Leaving Home before Marriage explores a step that young American adults are increasingly taking—setting up a household alone or with housemates. Frances K. Goldscheider and Calvin Goldscheider analyze this profound change as it figures in the plans of young people and their parents and in the decisions they eventually make about their living arrangements. The Goldscheiders find that gender attitudes, ethnic and religious values, and generational relationships shape the path young people take to residential independence.