Parental well-being when children move out: A panel study on short- and long-term effects

Abstract

This article investigates the effect of adult children leaving the parental home on parental well-being. Adult children moving out is an important event in parents' lives. However, it is theoretically unclear whether parental well-being decreases or increases from children moving out. On the one hand, children moving out can relieve parents' burdens and reduce stress exposure affecting well-being positively. On the other hand, it leads to a change in parental roles, with adverse consequences for parental well-being. This study uses long-running panel data (1991–2016) from the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) to investigate the relationship between child moves and parental well-being using fixed effects dummy impact functions. The findings suggest that differentiating between first and empty nest moves is important when investigating the effects of children moving out of the parental home on parental well-being, as only the first move shows a long-lasting negative effect on parental well-being. Furthermore, the effects are strongest for respondents who have work arrangements in line with traditional gender roles.