(ANSA) - Italian men are no longer mamma's boys and feel they are forced to pay lip service to family affection, according to the latest survey.
One Italian in two feels they "can't be themselves" around their 'loved ones' and seven out of ten describe their family relations as "a prison they can't break out of," according to the popular psychology magazine Riza Psicosomatica.
A clear majority of the 1,000 young people polled said they felt they had to "continually feign" affection for their family - and one in three said this was even the case for the once-venerated mother.
According to experts quoted by Riza, this sea change in young Italians' attitude to their parents is the result of having to live together too long.
With a tough job and housing market, Italians are living at home longer and longer, the experts observe.
"They can't afford to leave home because they can't find jobs or cheap housing," the survey said, concluding that "proximity breeds contempt."
The classic image of the 'momma's boy' is that of a young man who simply can't tear himself away from the apron strings of his beloved mother.
These days, by contrast, they'd like to get away but can't, Riza said.
One consequence of this is that Italians are "not really growing up" and behaving like teenagers well into their 30s and sometimes 40s, Riza said. This is highlighted by the typical complaints they make for not finding family life congenial, the experts said.
"The chief gripe of a third of them is that they have to be constantly available, while a quarter are fed up of having to call their mothers every day.
"A slightly lower proportion can't stand having to attend family dinners and remember birthdays, anniversaries and other family events," the magazine said.
Mamma irritates this generation of ageing adoloscents by complaining about a host of things, Riza said.
Top of the list was "constantly badmouthing girlfriends or wives," followed by "heavy criticism that makes us feel we're not hacking it," "continual comparisons with more successful peers," and "criticising the way we dress or do our hair."
"These are the classic laments of generations of teenagers," Riza said.
