“At 22, you want to be elsewhere than with your parents”, the difficult return of confined students

Following the announcement of confinement in Paris on March 18, many students fled the capital to return to their parents. Forced cohabitation is not always easy. Illustration in Côte d’Or and Saône-et-Loire.

Claire Bony is 22 years old. She is a business school student in Paris. But for the past few days, it is in her parents’ living room that she has settled down to take these online courses. When the localized confinement was announced, she did not hesitate for long. In a few clicks, she books a carpooling and packs her bags for Saône-et-Loire. ” I didn’t even ask myself the question. It really was not an option. I don’t regret it because loneliness in an apartment is still very complicated. Four weeks is a very long time without seeing anyone, without being able to go out … »Explains the young woman.

Sometimes we find ourselves at 180 on a Teams meeting.

Claire Bony, student

Although a Parisian confinement is unthinkable for her, the return to her parents is not easy: unstable connection, loss of motivation, life with the family… For her, the situation is complex and burdensome in many respects. ” Connection problems can happen when there are a lot of people. Sometimes we find ourselves at 180 on a Teams meeting. It’s complicated for group work, no one has the same hours. It’s a lack of motivation for everyone, fed up. »Comments Claire Bony.

It’s difficult to readjust.

Claire Bony, student.

A return home sometimes synonymous with a step back for these young people in search of independence. ” It’s quite weird. I went to Paris just after my baccalaureate for my studies so I quickly had an apartment of my own. I have also lived abroad on my own … It’s difficult to readjust, we no longer have the same habits, we don’t eat at the same times, we don’t do the same things … And then sometimes for lessons c is complicated, I need to be calm. And my mother no longer works. Suddenly, she’s in the house, she makes noise, she’s on the phone… So for concentration, it’s super difficult. »

I try not to think too much about whether this can be prolonged or not.

Claire Bony, student.

A global situation that the young woman does not see very well. This new confinement creates uncertainty for the rest of his studies. ” If we are back in person, we have to find an apartment in Paris. It is still very complicated and very expensive. If the distance learning courses last a month, we’ll pay for an apartment for nothing. Me, I like the dynamics of Paris, I have my friends there… I try not to think too much about if it can be prolonged or not. I fear not being able to be autonomous »Claire Bony testimony.

This return to the family home divides Claire’s mother, Pascale Faron. Very happy to find her daughter, she is however aware that this situation can harm her well-being: “ At 22, you want to be somewhere other than with your parents. We need to be in contact with people, to share things, to work together. And there they are each at home, it’s very hard psychologically I think. »

It is true that compared to my friends, I have the impression that I still have a lot of ties to Dijon.

Alice Javouhey, student.

Better living comfort

Alice Javouhey is a student at the Ecole Normale Supérieure in Paris. For her too, considering confinement in Paris was complicated: ” I did not want to stay a full month in Paris without being able to come back to Dijon and without going elsewhere. It would get a bit heavy to just stay there for a month. “Her lessons allowing her, she then decided to return to her father’s home in Dijon. ” As I lived here until the end of my prep and spent the first two confinements here, I’m used to living with my dad. There are not too many worries. It is true that compared to my friends, I have the impression that I still have a lot of ties to Dijon. I have friends who have their whole life in Paris. I have both my life in Paris and in Dijon. »

His study conditions have not changed much, his lessons taking place by videoconference with, in his two places of life, a good connection. The main motivation of the young woman to escape Parisian confinement was above all to maintain social ties. “ Paris is not disturbing if I have the opportunity to go out, to see people. If I can’t see them a lot, I’d rather be here and have someone in the same house, with whom to eat, chat. It’s pretty cool. »

It is a time of youth, especially for 18-24 year olds, where we build our social, material and relational autonomy.

Olivier Rey, President of the OVE Scientific Council

Psychological distress

In 2020, following the first confinement, one in three young people showed signs of psychological distress. A situation considered delicate by Olivier Rey, president of the Scientific Council of the National Observatory of Student Life (OVE). ” It is a time of youth, especially for 18-24 year olds where we build our social, material and relational autonomy. All of this can be very upset if you come back with your family. “Thus, 34% of students who returned to their parents due to confinement reported relationship difficulties with their parents. According to Olivier Rey, the older the students, the more reluctant they are to return to the family home. The unplanned and temporary conditions of this crisis situation considerably deteriorate the mental health of students according to the president of OVE.

(Re) see the report

A report by Romain Michelot, Valentin Gourion and Philippe Sabatier.