Sage Journals: Discover world-class research

Abstract

Background

Empty Nest Syndrome (ENS) is a state experienced by parents usually in late middle adulthood when their child/children leave home for studies/marriage/work. In today's world, where children often move away from parental home for higher education, studying this phenomenon becomes important.

Objective

The aim of the current study is to investigate the sociodemographic factors associated with ENS and its impact on wellbeing of middle-aged adults.

Method

Data was collected from 115 parents (purposive sampling), using standardized self-report measures PERMA profiler and the ENS-IF. Statistical analysis was done using t tests, ANOVA and post hoc analysis.

Results

The findings of the study highlighted significant difference in ENS levels across age groups (F_2,112 = 3.713, p < .05), education levels (F_2,112 = 4.114, p < .01) and place of residence (F_2,112 = 3.39, p < .05). Also, higher levels of ENS were found to have significant negative impact (F_2,112 = 3.28, p < .05) on wellbeing of middle aged adults.

Conclusion

The present study emphasizes the need of understanding socio-demographic influences on ENS and importance of fostering interventions to promote the wellbeing of middle-aged empty nesters.

Keywords

Middle adulthood psychological wellbeing Empty Nest Syndrome

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Badiani

Sousa

(2016). Empty Nest Syndrome: A review. Journal of Family Medicine and Primary Care, 5(2), 234–237. https://doi.org/10.4103/2249-4863.192315

Bansal

Pandey

(2024). Navigating transitions: Correlations between Empty Nest Syndrome, life meaning, and social support in women. Journal of Mental Health & Aging, 8(3), 202. https://doi.org/10.35841/aajmha-8.3.202

Black

Hill

(1984). The effects of the “empty nest” transition on the marital dyad: A review. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 46(4), 879–889. https://doi.org/10.2307/352534

Bogdan

(2022). Positive adaptations during the empty nest phase: A phenomenological review. Journal of Adult Development, 29(2), 150–162. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10804-021-09403-3

Budhia

Neogi

Rathi

(2022). Empty nest syndrome: its prevalence and predictors in middle aged adults in Eastern India: Category: Oral Paper Presentation. Indian Journal of Psychiatry, 64(suppl 3), S577. https://doi.org/10.4103/0019-5545.341672

Butler

Kern

M. L.

(2016). The PERMA-Profiler: A brief multidimensional measure of flourishing. International Journal of Wellbeing, 6(3), 1–48. https://doi.org/10.5502/ijw.v6i3.526

Cavan

R. S.

(1965). The family and the empty nest. American Sociological Association.

Collischon

Eberl

Wolbring

(2024). Parental well-being when children move out: A panel study on short- and long-term effects. Advances in Life Course Research, 62. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.alcr.2024.100643

Duvall

E. M.

(1957). Family development. J.B. Lippincott Company.

10.

Ezeh

M. A.

Okonkwo

E. A.

Nwagbo

I. L.

Nweke-Uko

Ogbozor

P. A.

(2021). Gender and coping strategy as predictors of Empty Nest Syndrome among midlife to late adults in South East Nigeria. Esut Journal of Social Sciences, 6(3). https://www.esutjss.com/index.php/ESUTJSS

11.

Gao

Chen

Jia

Zhao

Yang

Liu

(2024). Social participation and health in middle-aged and older empty nesters: A study on gender differences. SSM - Population Health, 25. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssmph.2024.101641

12.

Garcia

A. S.

Lavender-Stott

E. S.

Carotta

C. L.

Liu

H.-L. (.

Nguyen

V. O.

Timm-Davis

(2024). Loneliness, parenting stress, and the buffering effect of social connectedness. The Family Journal, 33(1), 93–103. https://doi.org/10.1177/10664807241251433

13.

Goodman

F. R.

Disabato

D. J.

Kashdan

T. B.

Kauffman

S. B.

(2017). Measuring well-being: A comparison of subjective well-being and perma. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 13(4), 321–332. https://doi.org/10.1080/17439760.2017.1388434

14.

Grosse Rueschkamp

J. M.

Kuppens

Riediger

Blanke

E. S.

Brose

(2020). Higher well-being is related to reduced affective reactivity to positive events in daily life. Emotion (Washington, D.C.), 20(3), 376–390. https://doi.org/10.1037/emo0000557

15.

Gupta

(2022). Parental well-being: Another dimension of adult well-being. The Family Journal, 31(1), 69–77. https://doi.org/10.1177/10664807221090948

16.

Gupta

Amin

Paul

(2025). Adolescent–parent relationship, internet expectancy and social media addiction: Moderating role of gender. The Family Journal, 0(0). https://doi.org/10.1177/10664807251349838

17.

Haripriya

Sharmili

(2024). Life satisfaction and psychological well-being among empty nesters and non-empty nesters in Kerala. The International Journal of Indian Psychology, 12(2), 215. https://doi.org/10.25215/1202.215

18.

Harkins

E. B.

(1978). Effects of empty nest transition on self-concept and life satisfaction of women. Family Coordinator, 27(4), 337–342. https://doi.org/10.2307/581049

19.

Hartanto

Sim

Lee

Majeed

N. M.

Yong

J. C.

(2024). Cultural contexts differentially shape parents’ loneliness and wellbeing during the empty nest period. Communications Psychology, 2, Article 105. https://doi.org/10.1038/s44271-024-00156-8

20.

Herzberg-Kurasz

Giraud

Gajewska

M. A.

David–Goretta

de Singly

(2024). Reconfiguration of the mother’s role after the departure of the children. In Żadkowska

Skowrońska

Giraud

Schmidt

(Eds.), Reconfiguring relations in the empty nest (pp. 39–64). Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-50403-7_3

21.

International Labour Organization. (2024). Labour Force Statistics (LFS, STLFS, RURBAN databases) - ILOSTAT. ILO. https://ilostat.ilo.org

22.

Karabacak Çelik

(2025). A reliability generalization meta-analysis of the PERMA-profiler. Social Indicators Research, 177, 1027–1050. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-025-03547-4

23.

Kaur

K. J.

Sinha

A. K.

(2023). Empty nests: A study on the left-behind parents of emigrated children from Punjab (India). The Family Journal, 0(0). https://doi.org/10.1177/10664807231157028

24.

Kearney

B. Y.

(2002). Empty Nest Syndrome: Myth or reality? Irish Journal of Psychological Medicine, 19(3), 89–91. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0790966700007465

25.

Keyes

C. L. M.

(2002). The mental health continuum: From languishing to flourishing in life. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 43(2), 207–222. https://doi.org/10.2307/3090100

26.

Khan

Sulaman

Husnain

Yousif

(2025). Cultural perceptions of parenting and parental empowerment: A sociological study of shifting norms in urban and rural Pakistan. Social Science Review Archives, 3(1), 94–105. https://doi.org/10.70670/sra.v3i1.290

27.

Kristensen

König

H. H.

Hajek

(2021). The empty nest, depressive symptoms and loneliness of older parents: Prospective findings from the German Ageing Survey. Archives of Gerontology and Geriatrics, 95. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.archger.2021.104425

28.

Kumar

(2014). Origin and regional setting of metropolises in India. Current Urban Studies, 2, 178–187. https://doi.org/10.4236/cus.2014.23018

29.

Levinson

D. J.

(1978). Seasons of a man’s life. Random House.

30.

Lopata

H. Z.

(1966). Widowhood in an American city. Harvard University Press.

31.

Manchana

(2023). Interpersonal relationships, subjective health, psychological well-being, and quality of life among older adults in South India: Evidence from a population-based study. Journal of Education and Health Promotion, 12(1), 150. https://doi.org/10.4103/jehp.jehp_735_22

32.

Mansoor

Hasan

S. S.

(2019). Empty Nest Syndrome: Loneliness and social support among middle-aged parents. Pakistan Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 17(1), 55–60. https://gcu.edu.pk/pages/gcupress/pjscp/volumes/pjscp20191-8.pdf

33.

Nie

Y. Z.

Zhang

Hong

N. W.

Zhou

Huang

Q. Q.

Cao

S. Y.

Wang

(2024). Psychometric validation of the PERMA-profiler for well-being in Chinese adults. Acta Psychologica, 246, 104248. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actpsy.2024.104248

34.

Østertun Geirdal

A. K.

Leung

Price

Kabelenga

Lamph

Thygesen

Ruffolo

Bonsaksen

(2024). Associations between demographic variables, psychosocial health, quality of life, and happiness in the context of COVID-19. Applied Research in Quality of Life, 19(2), 603–617. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11482-023-10255-z

35.

Rohilla

(2023). Promoting social connectedness and mental well-being among elderly populations. International Journal of Creative Research Thoughts (IJCRT), 11(11). https://mail.ijcrt.org/papers/IJCRT2311649.pdf

36.

Royena

P. M.

(2024). Empty Nest Syndrome: Loneliness and social support among middle-aged n parents. Journal of Interdisciplinary Perspectives, 2(9), 121–136. https://doi.org/10.69569/jip.2024.0338

37.

Seligman

M. E. P.

(2011). Flourish: A visionary new understanding of happiness and well-being. Free Press.

38.

Sharma

Rao

Thakur

Harwani

Mehta

(2025). A comparative analysis of “Empty Nest Syndrome” in parents based on parents’ demographic variables. International Journal of Indian Psychology, 13(2), 4544–4561. https://doi.org/10.25215/1302.403

39.

Singh

L. K.

Srivastava

Maxton

A. S.

(2023). Loneliness and life satisfaction among empty nest employed and unemployed mothers. Journal for ReAttach Therapy and Developmental Diversities, 6(6S), 751–757. https://doi.org/10.53555/jrtdd.v6i6s.2283

40.

Stryker

(1968). Identity salience and role performance: The relevance of symbolic interactionism for social psychology. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 30(4), 558–564. https://doi.org/10.2307/349494

41.

Tanvi

Madhumita

Arundhati

T. B.

Grace

M. J.

(2022). Empty Nest Syndrome Scale- Indian Form (ENS-IF). International Journal of Indian Psychology, 10(4), 612–627. https://doi.org/10.25215/1004.059

42.

Wei

Xue

(2022). A longitudinal study on the emotional support mechanism of the mental health of empty nesters: Recent evidence from China National Health and Retirement Survey. International Healthcare Review, 1(2), 1–13. https://doi.org/10.56226/37

43.

Westberg

(1971). Good grief: A constructive approach to the problem of loss. Fortress Press.

44.

Yang

Liu

Chong

M.-c.

Cheng

Gong

Zou

(2023). Health and wellbeing among the empty nest and non-empty nest elderly in China: Results from a national cross-sectional study. PLoS ONE, 18(9). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0291231