Empty Nest Syndrome Research Paper

The most distinctive trait of American family life, then the trait that differentiates it from family life in other western countries, is sheer movement: frequent transitions, shorter relationships. Americans step on and off the carousel of intimate partnerships (marriages and cohabiting relationships) more often. Whether an American parent is married or cohabiting or raising children without a partner, she or he is more likely to change living arrangements in the near future than are parents in the rest of the western world. It is consequential and we should be concerned about it, both as parents and as a nation, because it may increase children’s behavioral and emotional problems. Simply pu, some children seem to have difficulty adjusting to a series of parents and parents’ partners moving in and out of their home. It is not just parental divorces and breakups that are hard for children. Even transitions that bring a new partner or stepparent into the home can be difficult to cope with. Children whose parents have remarried do not have higher levels of well-being than children in lone-parent (a parent who is neither married nor living with a partner) families, despite the addition of a second parent. One reason is that new

It is during this time a father needs to be present to father, shape and mold his children (Jones, Kramer, Kim A., Teresa L., Armitage, Tracey, Williams, Keith, as cited in Wallerstein, 1980, 1987). On their 10 year follow up, Wallerstein and Kelley found that regardless of the time spent with a father or not, the father continued to be a significant presence psychologically to adolescents, particularly to boys (Jones et al., as cited in Wallerstein, Kelley, 1974). On Kelley and Wallerstein’s 25 year follow up of their now adult participants in their longitudinal study, they have found that the effects of fatherlessness and divorce during their adolescents were long lasting. The participants in the study by Wallerstein et al. (2000) noted that “The impact of divorce hits them most cruelly as they go in search of love, sexual intimacy, and commitment” (p. 299). These same participants also stated in an interview that they had anxiety issues about relationships and intimacy problems into adulthood (Jones et al., as cited in Wallerstein et al., 2000). Wallerstein et al. (2000) participants of the research also stated that they had resentment towards their parents, particularly the fathers who were seen “selfish and faithless” (p. 300).

The area of greatest disagreement was the area of midlife crisis. “Levinson (1978) views midlife as a crisis, arguing that the middle-aged adult is suspended between the past and the future, trying to cope with this gap that threatens life’s continuity (Santrock, 2013 p. 512). This is particularly interesting because the female responded that she was experiencing a midlife crisis and the male did not. However, in this instance, the female is still in the workforce and the male is retired. The experiences that the female related closely resemble the conditions of the male during the time of Levinson’s study. In addition to still working, the female had recently changed her place of employment, and within the past five years lost both of her parents. While the male was retired and took care of the house and children, his stress level had been reduced as he became the primary care giver to this in-laws and their passing reduced his overall daily responsibilities. Both maintain close relationships with their siblings and frequently get together with them.

The launching of young adult children could be perceived both as a positive and negative because some parents experience “emptiness syndrome” while some people may enjoy the freedom of having free time or vacationing alone without the children. Another positive effect the child and the parenting communication improve during the launching phase especially for boys, according to Rudi Dallos et. al. (1996). Some people might experience a sense of loss and confusion since they no longer play the parenting

The world around us has many current issues that relate one way or another to family and consumer science. I recently read an article written by Joan R. McFadden and Kay T. Rawson Swan, entitled “Women During Midlife: Is It Transition or Crisis?”. The article talked about how women go through the different stages of menopause also known as mid-life crisis to some. With a mid-life crisis it is stated to involve a feeling of loneliness, a period of wanting to find one’s self in the world, a time to reinvent yourself, to live outside of a woman’s everyday life style, and to experience changes in health and family roles. For many women these statements are said to be true, but not all women are the same.

Summary: In an online magazine there's an article called "My Struggle to Have Kids Made Me Feel Lonely and Isolated." In this article the author Kathy Glow talks about her struggle to have children, and how alone she felt during this time. In this article the author describes how she felt she had to stay isolated in order to protect her feelings because none of her friends knew about her difficulty to conceive which led her to stay away so she could avoid all the questions about why she hasn't had any children yet. Kathy Glow also talks about how she pushed all of her friends out of her life because they all had kids and she felt as if she couldn't relate or join into the conversations they were having.

loneliness and alienation are severely damaging to the young mothers psyche. The young mother has

Social relationships, partnership dynamics, finances and responsibilities are changing. The uncertainties surrounding this unique role change can result in increased stress and anxiety (Hanley, 2015). Brunton et al. (2011) found that most women expressed worry in relation to labour and birth, coping in the postnatal period and fear about body changes. Clark et al. (2009) found that women were most dissatisfied with their body image in the early postnatal period. Body changes can be partially responsible for decreased intimacy between couples following child birth, further adding to women’s dissatisfaction and depressive feelings (Hanley, 2015). Additional challenges are faced by breastfeeding mothers in accepting the role of being mothers as well as sexual partners (Marques and Lemos, 2010).

Postpartum depression is the most common psychological complexity that occurs after childbirth (Bakhshizadeh, 2013). This form of depression has been reported to be as high as 20% (Asltoghiria, 2012). The mother will begin to experience postpartum depression between the birth of the infant and 6 to 8 weeks later (Bhati, 2015). Depending on the person, the typical length of postpartum depression ranges anywhere from two weeks to two years in length (Posmontier, 2010). It is thought that postpartum depression affects mothers of multiples at a greater incidence than mothers whom birth just one child, and the chance increases with the number of children in a multiple birth. Evidence shows that the older the mother’s age at the time of birth, shows there is no notable increase in the risk of being diagnosed with postpartum depression. Another factor that is thought to have an influence on the diagnosis of postpartum depression is income within the household. A study shows that as income goes down, the risk of having

The pain of separation with our kids can go far beyond simply missing your son or daughter after they're gone. Some parents do feel a very real sense of grief and loss; I know I sure will.

ESSAY: EMPTY NEST SYNDROME “It is not what you do for your children, but what you have taught them to do for themselves, that will make them successful human beings.” —Ann Lander. Empty nest syndrome is a psychological condition faced by most of the parents after a certain point of time in their lives when their children leave them for their higher education, marriage. This condition is most common in mothers since they are the ones who have spent almost eighteen to nineteen years of their life with their children growing them from toddlers to teen.

During the years, single parent families have become a more common thing. This is starting to become a problem, because family dynamics can really influence a child’s life. According to studies it affects not only the child but the parents too.

Throughout history a one-parent household has been deemed as a nontraditional family, but in today’s society it seems more and more common with every day. Although the reason and causes vary, each year the number of children raised by a single parent increases. Most people don’t seem to realize how much this can change a child’s future. The impact of childhood experiences simply set the disposition of adulthood and the rest of their lives. There is not one sole factor that affects child development, but one very important one is the role and relationship created with one’s parents. How a child is parented and raised leaves a lasting impression on them, commonly for a

The empty nest – a feeling of grief and loneliness that many parents feel when their children grow up and leave home – is becoming rare, mainly across the entire Western countries. In reality, the nest has never been so ordered. Insofar as this is the case, that the possibility to find young adults still living in parental home is increasing globally, moreover the demographic prognosis show the continuity of these trends, according to recent studies. This behavior’s increment has been a modern phenomenon - so-called ‘boomerang kid’ (a young adult who returns after leaving) or ‘failure to launch children’ (the ones who never leaved) - and has fast growing in the last decades. Parents, educators and researches debate whether living with parents into adulthood might affect the capability to slide into real ripe world with all new challenges of independence. Although coexisting with parents into adulthood occasionally yields negatives consequences, many researches and also adults and parents is this situation can provide assorted advantages of family togetherness. On the surface at least, this behavior seem totally inappropriate and could have a widespread negative stigma; however, not only young adults and their families but also modern society have several reasons to celebrate this phenomenon, once benefits usually overwhelm negative aspects. This essay will explore the issues surrounding young adults still living in parental home and analyze the impact regarding social,

Children need intact families to flourish. It is hard to imagine that if the family is torn apart, a child can simply adjust to a new situation, home, step-parent, siblings, and entire change of life as they know it without suffering significant effects upon their mental health and development lacks. Despite voices that serve to minimize the effects of divorce on children, this paper will show that the negative effects upon their mental health and development are such that the best solution is to avoid divorce all together. According to Stinson and Jones, “well-being on the road to adulthood for both children and teens hinges on family relationships.”