A new survey finds 59 percent of parents are providing, or have in the past provided, financial support to their adult children when they are no longer in school.

The online poll, commissioned by the National Endowment for Financial Education  (NEFE), explores how the current economic landscape is presenting a bigger challenge than expected for those who should be leaving the nest.

Of adult children ages 18-39 who are not in school, 65 percent believe the financial pressures faced by their generation are tougher than those experienced by previous generations. Parents seem to agree, with 32 percent saying their own generation had it easier than their children’s generation. Additionally, 43 percent of parents providing financial support say they are doing so because they are “legitimately concerned” with their child’s financial well-being, while 37 percent say they have struggled in the past and do not want to see their children struggle the same way.

NEFE President and CEO Ted Beck noted that parents are making sacrifices to help their kids out — sacrifices they may not be able to comfortably make.

“We all want to ensure the best for our children. But if you are taking on extra debt or delaying retirement to help your adult child, you could be making a mistake and putting your own financial future in jeopardy,” he warned.

Thirty percent of parents responded that they have given up privacy since their adult children moved back home; 26 percent have taken on additional debt; 13 percent have delayed a life event, such as buying a home or taking a vacation; and 7 percent have delayed retirement.