Loneliness And Life Satisfaction Among Empty Nest Employed And Unemployed Mothers

Abstract

The empty nest transition is a developmental phase faced in midlife by the parents, where they experience various feelings and emotions related to this transition. The aim of the study was to explore the level of loneliness and life satisfaction in empty nest employed and unemployed mothers. It discusses the relationship between empty nest, loneliness and life satisfaction. The transition to the empty nest has been depicted as a time of crisis for most middle- aged parents, especially mothers. The sample comprised of 40 middle – aged empty nest mothers, which includes 20 employed and 20 unemployed mothers. The independent variables are empty nest and employment status, and the dependent variables are loneliness and life satisfaction.There are two hypotheses – Empty nest unemployed mothers will be more susceptible to loneliness than empty nest employed mothers, and Empty nest employed mothers will have more life satisfaction than empty nest unemployed mothers. UCLA loneliness scale version 3 and Satisfaction with Life scale was administered. Data was analyzed using t – testing.  The finding of the study revealed that empty nest unemployed mothers experience more loneliness in comparison to empty nest employed mothers. Furthermore, the result findings showed that empty nest employed mothers have more life satisfaction than empty nest unemployed mothers.