This thesis is an attempt to account for the phenomenon referred to by the media as the kangaroo generation in terms of the interrelations between the family sphere and the contemporary social context, on the basis of the belief that it is in this interaction that it is configured. The phenomenon in question is the fact that many young adults choose to continue living with their parents even though they already lead independent lives outside the home. The delaying of the departure from the family reflects a constellation of intrafamilial factors - ambivalence towards departure and the loss of achieved roles - and extrafamilial ones, arising from a social context sharply marked by instability and uncertainty. The field study involved seven middle-class families in Rio de Janeiro, seven parental couples and eight children aged 26 or older. The object of the research was to analyze the ways how families see this pattern of coexistence, as well as to bring out the agreements settled on by family members in order to extend in time their assigned roles.