Hartanto Andree, Sim Lester, Lee Davelle, Majeed Nadyanna M, Yong Jose C
School of Social Sciences, Singapore Management University, Singapore, Singapore.
Department of Psychology, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore.
Commun Psychol. 2024 Nov 3;2(1):105. doi: 10.1038/s44271-024-00156-8.
The coming decades will see a substantial increase in the population of older adults, accompanied by significant demographic and family structure changes worldwide. As a result, the empty nest period-the postparental phase in parents' lives when their children have left home and they are no longer engaged in childrearing-is becoming an increasingly common experience in Western and Asian cultures. The current theoretical review examines the psychological consequences of the empty nest period on loneliness and well-being across cultures, emphasizing the impact of cultural factors on these experiences. By synthesizing research from Western and Asian contexts, we explore two primary theoretical mechanisms-role loss and role strain relief-that shape the postparental phase's psychological outcomes. Our review reveals that while some parents experience reduced well-being due to role loss, others benefit from role strain relief and increased social engagement. We highlight how cultural differences in familial roles, gender roles, social expectations regarding nest-leaving, and social participation patterns moderate these mechanisms. We propose a comprehensive cultural framework, along with a discussion of culturally sensitive interventions to enhance the well-being of empty nesters globally.
在未来几十年里，全球老年人口将大幅增加，同时伴随着显著的人口结构和家庭结构变化。因此，空巢期——即父母生活中子女离家、不再抚养孩子的育儿后阶段——在西方和亚洲文化中已变得越来越普遍。当前的理论综述探讨了空巢期对不同文化中孤独感和幸福感的心理影响，强调了文化因素对这些体验的作用。通过综合来自西方和亚洲背景的研究，我们探究了塑造育儿后阶段心理结果的两个主要理论机制——角色丧失和角色压力缓解。我们的综述表明，虽然一些父母因角色丧失而幸福感降低，但另一些父母则受益于角色压力缓解和社交参与增加。我们强调了家庭角色、性别角色、关于子女离家的社会期望以及社会参与模式方面的文化差异如何调节这些机制。我们提出了一个全面的文化框架，并讨论了具有文化敏感性的干预措施，以提高全球空巢老人的幸福感。
