A Dyadic Examination of Marital Quality at the Empty-Nest Phase

This study aims to achieve a better understanding of the later stages of the family life cycle by exploring couples' marital quality during the empty-nest years of their relationships, using the actor–partner interdependence mediation model. The empty nest is the family stage that begins with the departure of children from home. In the hypothesized model of marital quality, husbands' and wives' satisfaction at having raised successful children serve as predictor variables, whereas their levels of perceived stress act as mediators. A sample of 344 participants, forming 172 heterosexual couples, participated in the study. The results of path analyses indicated that the model provided an acceptable fit for the data. Closer examination suggested that wives' and husbands' perceived stress fully mediate the relationships between husbands' tendency to view their children as successful adults and both spouses' marital quality. The article discusses interdependence and gender differences between spouses concerning their empty-nest experience.

Der Einfluss des Auszugs von Kindern aus dem Elternhaus auf die Beziehungsstabilität der Eltern / The Impact of the Departure of Children from Home on the Risk of Parental Breakup

ZusammenfassungDer Beitrag untersucht sieben Erklärungsansätze zum „empty nest“-Einfluss auf die Beziehungsstabilität der Eltern. Datengrundlage ist der „Generations and Gender Survey“, eine retrospektive Repräsentativbefragung für Deutschland von 2005. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass der Eintritt in die „empty nest“-Phase das Trennungsrisiko der Eltern erhöht. Dabei ist die Risikosteigerung im Vergleich zu den Paaren, deren Kinder noch nicht ausgezogen sind, dauerhaft. Eine Erhöhung des Trennungsrisikos über das Niveau der Kinderlosen hinaus ist hingegen nur vorübergehend. Die Ergebnisse weisen darauf hin, dass der „empty nest“-Effekt im Verlust ehespezifischen Kapitals und/oder in einer Reduktion der wechselseitigen Abhängigkeit der Eltern sowie in Anpassungs- und/oder Nachholeffekten begründet ist. Weitere potenzielle Erklärungsmechanismen für den „empty nest“-Effekt - Belastungsreduktion, selektives Auszugsverhalten der Kinder und selektive Elternschaft - erscheinen hingegen von untergeordneter Bedeutung. Die Ergebnisse weisen über die hier untersuchte Fragestellung hinaus darauf hin, dass (wie häufig vermutet, aber noch kaum untersucht) die allgemein höhere Beziehungsstabilität von Eltern im Vergleich zu kinderlosen Paaren in der Tat auf einem Kausaleffekt beruht - d.h. als Einfluss von Kindern auf die Beziehungsstabilität der Eltern zu interpretieren ist -, und nicht nur in einem Selektionseffekt begründet ist, der dadurch zustande kommt, dass Kinder eher in stabilen Partnerschaften geboren werden.

O Que Eu Fui, O Que Eu Sou... Trabalho e Remuneração na Vida Atual da Mulher Idosa

Resumo: Esta pesquisa teve o objetivo de conhecer a influência do fato de ter exercido trabalho remunerado ou não remunerado na forma pela qual as mulheres com mais de 60 anos encaram sua vida atual na velhice. As falas das idosas, com idade variando entre 60 e 80 anos, foram colhidas através de grupos focais com a temática do trabalho. Os dados foram submetidos à Análise de Conteúdo e os resultados sugerem que a aposentaria teve um significado especial para estas mulheres: o grupo que trabalhou fora de casa vislumbrou a perda do espaço social e, ao mesmo tempo concordou com o outro grupo em que só a partir da desobrigação do trabalho exercido no lar, do acontecimento da viuvez e do crescimento dos filhos sentiram-se livres para realizar a si próprias. Palavras-chave: Mulher. Velhice. Trabalho Remunerado. Trabalho Não Remunerado. Aposentadoria. Abstract: The aim of this research was to discover how work, paid or unpaid, influences the way that women over 60 years old deal with their lives in old age. The comments of the old women, aged between 60 and 80 years old, were collected through focus groups, in which the topic was work. The data were examined using Content Analysis and the results suggested that retirement had special significance: while the group that worked out of home discerned the loss of social space, at the same time, it agreed with the other group, in the perception that only with the release from household work, arising from widowhood and the departure of children, did they feel free to fulfill themselves. Keywords: Woman. Oldness. Paid and Unpaid Work. Retirement.

The Age at Leaving Home in the United States, 1850–1860

Historically, the departure of children from the parental home was an important economic and social phenomenon. Because it was equivalent to establishing a new residence, the decision to leave is relevant to our understanding of the history of migration. Leaving home was also a milestone in the life cycle that typically signaled a transition from semidependence to greater economic and social responsibility on the part of the individual, a change that affected labor force participation, family income, expenditures on housing, schooling or training, socialization, and interaction among siblings. In turn, couples considered these implications in formulating fertility goals and strategies.

Sex Differences in Perceptions of Aging

This study extends earlier work on perceptions of aging by assessing sex differences and by focusing on specific events of aging, rather than global perceptions. Thirty persons over sixty-five years were asked individually to rate the difficulty of sixteen events for themselves, other women, and other men. The general finding of previous studies that difficulty for oneself is not as great as for others was replicated. Also, there was no difference in the difficulty overall for men and women. However, both these findings must be interpreted in the light of a significant (p < .01) interaction between sex of other person and specific events. Change in appearance, departure of children, and decrease in time with children are seen as more difficult for other women. Increased leisure time, decreased strength, and retirement are seen as more difficult for other men. Statements regarding difficulty of aging ought to be precise as to sex and specific events of aging.