The costs and benefits of an empty nest: A longitudinal study of couples' relationship functioning when children leave the home

在抚养孩子的过程中，夫妻往往把更多的时间和精力放在养育孩子上，而很少花时间培养彼此之间的关系。由于这个原因，子女最终离开家庭，即过渡到空巢，对夫妇来说可能很困难，因为他们要学会如何从父母照顾者的角色中退出来，适应日常生活，成为"仅仅"的关系伙伴。事实上，最近过渡到空巢的夫妇的离婚率可能比以往任何时候都高。此外，即使是在孩子离家后仍在一起的夫妇也经常回忆起这一过渡时期，认为这是一个充满挑战的时期，使他们彼此之间的情感联系紧张。由于夫妻在中年时期的关系质量会对他们晚年的幸福、健康和幸福产生持久的影响，因此需要更好地了解夫妻在这一规范性过渡期间保持牢固和健康关系的能力。本项目通过纵向研究，多方法研究检查最后一个或唯一的孩子离开家庭的夫妇（即，完成向空巢过渡的夫妇）和第一个孩子离开家的夫妇（即，刚开始起步阶段）。夫妇将通过问卷和每日调查进行评估，在他们的孩子离开家庭之前和之后进行，在三年的时间里总共收集了五波数据。基于关系转型是可以煽动关系增长或衰退的关键时期的想法，这个项目提供了新的视角，即哪些夫妇可能会在空巢过渡期间茁壮成长，哪些夫妇可能会在空巢过渡期间挣扎。有人提出，虽然过渡到空巢应该提供更多的机会，参与共同的活动，并重新点燃他们的关系，这一时期也可能会突然增加的不确定性和矛盾的感觉，可以阻碍积极的互动和增加日常冲突的合作伙伴。夫妻在多大程度上经历了这种转变的好处与成本可能取决于几个个人，关系和背景因素，如父母在此期间角色丧失或身份破坏的经历，亲子关系的性质，家庭内部的文化价值观，以及紧张的生活环境（例如，经济困难，照顾年迈的父母）夫妇当时面临的问题。 通过确定促进更成功而不是紧张的过渡的条件，这项工作不仅提高了对为什么过渡期可能对夫妇具有挑战性的理解，而且还可以揭示随着年龄的增长，提高成年人的生活质量。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

When raising their children, couples often focus more time and energy on parenting and less time nurturing their relationship with each other. For this reason, the eventual departure of children from the family home, known as the transition into an empty nest, can be difficult for couples as they learn how to step back from roles as parental caregivers and adapt to daily life as "just" relationship partners. Indeed, the divorce rate among couples who have recently transitioned into an empty nest may be higher today than ever. Moreover, even couples who remain together after their children's departure from the home frequently recall this transition as a challenging time that strained their emotional connection with one another. Because couples' relationship quality during mid-life can have lasting effects on their happiness, health, and well-being in later life, a better understanding of couples' ability to maintain a strong and healthy relationship during this normative transition is needed.This project investigates how and why couples’ relationship appraisals and day-to-day interactions change across the empty nest transition period through a longitudinal, multi-method study examining couples whose last or only child is departing the home (i.e., couples completing their transition into an empty nest) and couples whose first child is departing the home (i.e., couples just beginning the launching phase). Couples will be assessed via questionnaires and daily surveys administered both before and after their children leave the family home, for a total of five waves of data collection over a three-year period. Building on the idea that relational transitions are pivotal periods that can instigate either relationship growth or decay, this project offers new perspectives on which couples may thrive and which couples may struggle during the empty nest transition. It is proposed that although the transition into an empty nest should provide couples with more opportunities to engage in shared activities and rekindle their relationship, this period may also be characterized by sudden increases in feelings of uncertainty and ambivalence that can hinder positive interactions and increase daily conflict between partners. The extent to which couples experience the benefits versus the costs of this transition may depend on several individual, relational, and contextual factors, such as parents' experience of role loss or identity disruption during this time, the nature of the parent-child relationship, the cultural values held within the family, and the stressful life circumstances (e.g., financial hardships, caring for elderly parents) couples are facing at the time. By identifying the conditions that foster a more successful rather than strained transition, this work not only enhances understanding of why transitional periods may be challenging for couples, but also can shed light on improving adults' quality of life as they grow older.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.