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

空巢的成本和收益：对孩子离开家时夫妻关系运作的纵向研究

• 批准号: 2336235
• 负责人: Lisa Neff
• 金额: $ 87.01万
• 依托单位: University of Texas at Austin
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2024
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2024-05-01 至 2028-04-30
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2336235&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: costs; benefits; empty; nest; longitudinal

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.

在抚养孩子时，夫妻往往将更多的时间和精力放在养育子女上，而很少花时间培养彼此的关系。因此，孩子最终离开家庭（称为空巢）可能会很困难。对于夫妇来说，他们正在学习如何摆脱父母照顾者的角色，并适应作为“公正”关系伴侣的日常生活。事实上，最近进入空巢的夫妇的离婚率可能比以往任何时候都高。甚至在孩子离开后仍然在一起的夫妇家人经常将这一转变视为一段充满挑战的时期，使他们之间的情感联系紧张，因为中年时期夫妻的关系质量会对他们以后的幸福、健康和福祉产生持久影响，更好地理解夫妻关系。在这一规范过渡期间，夫妻需要保持牢固和健康的关系的能力。该项目通过纵向、多方法研究，调查了夫妻关系评估和日常互动在空巢过渡期间如何以及为何发生变化。最后一个或唯一的孩子即将离开家的夫妇（即完成空巢过渡的夫妇）和第一个孩子即将离开家的夫妇（即刚刚开始启动阶段的夫妇）将通过在孩子离开家之前和之后进行的问卷和每日调查进行评估。家庭之家，在三年期间总共收集了五波数据，该项目基于关系转变是可以促进关系发展或衰退的关键时期的理念，为哪些夫妻可以蓬勃发展以及哪些夫妻关系提供了新的视角。夫妻可能会陷入困境有人提出，尽管向空巢的过渡应该为夫妻提供更多参与共同活动并重新点燃关系的机会，但这一时期的特点也可能是不确定性和矛盾感的突然增加。阻碍积极的互动并增加伴侣之间的日常冲突。夫妻经历这种转变的好处与成本的程度可能取决于几个个人、关系和背景因素，例如父母在此期间角色丧失或身份破坏的经历。 、亲子关系的本质、文化价值观通过确定促进更成功而不是紧张的过渡的条件，这项工作不仅增强了对原因的理解。过渡期对于夫妇来说可能是一个挑战，但也可以为改善成年人随着年龄增长的生活质量提供启发。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。