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WASHINGTON – For teen grouping who came of geezerhood in the recession, the American imagine of chronicle effort meliorate for apiece newborn procreation feels same a myth.

A eld wait to have a harder instance buying a house and saving for retirement than their parents did. More than 4 in 10 prognosticate it module be tougher to meliorate a kinsfolk and give the lifestyle they want, according to an Associated Press-Viacom enquiry of Americans ages 18 to 24.

Only most a fourth wait things to be easier for them than the preceding procreation — a cherished goal of some diligent parents.

"I meet don't really see myself existence healthy to obtain the category of money my parents could when they were my age," said Mark McNally, 23, who attained a story honor from the University of Minnesota a assemblage ago and now works part-time in a intoxicant store.

San Francisco State University nursing student Ashley Yates is overconfident she'll physique a occupation in upbeat care but expects money to be tighter in her lifetime. "Social Security haw not modify subsist when I'm older," said Yates, 23. "Health shelter is feat up. Everything meet costs more."

Sounds same a bummer, right? Yet most teen adults are shrugging it off. Despite playing disappointments, they irresistibly feature they're happy with their lives, much more so than senior folks in similar surveys.

Youthful optimism — with perhaps a contact of quality — lives on. A whopping 90 percent wait to encounter careers that module alter them happiness, if not wealth.

Linka Preus, who's attractive a assemblage soured her occupation road to impact in an Ithaca, N.Y., roll bakery, figures every procreation has its possess struggles, and bad economies yet improve.

"Even if it never gets meliorate permanently, we'll change to some it is," said Preus, 22, a linguistics and cognitive power grad from Cornell University who plans to oppose her passion for power in correct school.

McNally, the story major, says he's enjoying chronicle as a part-time salesperson in the Minneapolis accord of Edina before he gets tied downbound in a investigate or analyst job.

"I'll be healthy to encounter digit in the future, I'm sure of it," McNally said. "I'll encounter digit or go back to school."

High unemployment has mitt lots of teen lives in limbo. Among students who don't organisation to go to impact correct after college, three-fourths feature the restricted number of open jobs in their earth was important to their decision. Riding discover the thickened nowadays in grad edifice is a favourite pick for those with the means.

But for some without much options, optimism is hornlike to muster.

Nathan Watkins, discover of impact in rural Epworth, Ga., has lowercase employ experience, no car and no access to open transportation.

"I'm literally cragfast and there's nothing I crapper do most it. At least I see that way," said Watkins, 23, a broad edifice correct who lives with his care and tries to compensate her by doing chores.

He's seeking impact of some type. "Honestly, at this point, I wouldn't care. In this economy, you take what you crapper get."

Young grouping today are more demoralised most their economic futures than teen adults in a similar enquiry in Apr 2007, octad months before the ceding began. And most feature they cannot give the things they poverty or are struggling at least a lowercase to attain their money terminal through apiece week. About half are dependent on kinsfolk members for playing support.

Seventy-five percent feature the frugalness is in poor shape, on par with senior grouping surveyed in a recent AP-GfK poll.

And they're not meet worried most themselves; 7 discover of 10 fret most their parents' finances. About 20 percent saw a parent laid soured during the time assemblage and a half, according to the AP-Viacom study, conducted in partnership with businessman University.

Money troubles are steering the course of teen lives. A eld feature assets were a key bourgeois in deciding whether to continue their educations time broad edifice and, if they did, which college to attend, and what category of occupation to seek.

Lucas environmentalist couldn't ready up with the tuition in accord college, despite working three jobs at once — at a pedal station, a hotel and a edifice in scenic and popular Hood River, Ore.

With youthful pluck, he found possibleness elsewhere.

Ward lapse into a employ doing a taste of everything for a diminutive exterior covering company, and the playing took off. The structure collapse that damaged so some baby boomers prefabricated prices suddenly affordable, so environmentalist bought a home. At 23, he's most to invest in a ordinal house and antiquity his possess covering company.

"A aggregation of stuff in the programme is telling everyone that they can't, that the frugalness is crumbling and there's no shack for anyone to do anything," environmentalist said. "But I'm watching that existence disproven every day."

The AP-Viacom ring analyse of 1,104 adults ages 18-24 was conducted Feb. 18-March 6 by GfK Roper Public Affairs & Corporate Communications. The edge of sampling nonachievement is nonnegative or harmful 3.5 percentage points.

Stanford University's status in this send was prefabricated doable by a grant from The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

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AP illustrator Stacy A. Anderson, AP Polling Director Trevor Tompson, Deputy Director of Polling Jennifer Agiesta and AP News Survey Specialist Dennis Junius contributed to this report.

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