Citation

Radloff LS. Sex Roles 1980; 6(6): 775-781.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1980, Holtzbrinck Springer Nature Publishing Group)

DOI

10.1007/BF00287233

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

The "empty nest syndrome" is a depressive reaction in middle-aged mothers attributed to role loss when all her children have grown up and "left the nest." However, analyses of data from a large community mental health survey found that parents (both mothers and fathers) whose children were not living with them were significantly less depressed than other respondents of comparable age, income, occupational role, and marital status. This suggests that depression is not a typical reaction to an "empty nest."