Emptying the Nest and Parental Well-Being: An Analysis of National Panel Data
利用全国面板数据，研究发现子女离家后父母婚姻幸福感显著提升，但整体生活满意度仅在特定条件下改善，且空巢效应在子女刚离开时最强。
Panel data from a national random sample are used to investigate the effects of children leaving home on parental well-being. The is associated with significant improvements in marital happiness for all parents, regardless of parent's or children's characteristics. Overall life satisfaction improves significantly only under two conditions: when there is frequent contact with nonresident children or when there were young teens in the 1983 household. For both measures of parental well-being, the positive effects of the empty nest appear to be strongest immediately after the children leave. These findings, coupled with the high levels of post-launching contact, suggest that while parents experience a modest post-launch honeymoon, the parental role remains important to parental well-being.