Living Away from Home During Emerging Adulthood: The Role of Place Attachment in Psychological Well-Being

Living away from home during emerging adulthood involves psychological and environmental transitions that may affect well-being. Although place attachment has been linked to well-being across various populations, empirical evidence on this relationship among emerging adults in Indonesia remains scarce, particularly within Ryff's multidimensional framework of psychological well-being. This study addresses that gap by examining the association between place attachment and psychological well-being among emerging adults living away from home in Indonesia. A quantitative correlational approach was employed with 316 participants aged 18–25 years who had lived away from their place of origin for at least three months. Participants were recruited using incidental sampling and completed measures of place attachment and psychological well-being, and data were analyzed using simple linear regression. Results revealed a significant positive association between place attachment and psychological well-being (β = 0.591, p < 0.001), with place attachment accounting for 34.9% of the variance (R² = 0.349). By focusing on Indonesian emerging adults living away from home, a population and cultural context rarely examined in existing place attachment research, this study offers novel, context-specific evidence on how individuals' bonds with their living environment relate to psychological functioning during the transition to adulthood.