Psychological Well-Being in the Postparental Stage: Some Evidence from National Surveys

Abstract

According to data from six U.S. national surveys, middle-aged women whose children have left home report, as a whole, somewhat greater happiness and enjoyment of life than women of similar age with a child (or children) living at home, and the former report substantially greater marital happiness than the latter. These findings, considered in conjunction with consistent findings from retrospective and longitudinal studies, are convincing evidence that the children's leaving home does not typically have an enduring negative effect on the mother's psychological well-being.