Challenges and Coping Strategies of Empty Nesters

The empty nest stage of marriage is a phenomenon that exposes parents to new challenges as they change their status from parents living with children to aging parents living alone. Parents may experience feelings of loss, regret, anger, loneliness and many others. The main purpose of this study was to investigate the challenges and coping strategies of empty nest syndrome among couples as expressed by adults in Delta state. A multistage sampling method was used to select six hundred married adults from Delta state. The instrument used for the study was a researcher- developed questionnaire titled Challenges and Coping Strategies of the Empty Nest Syndrome Questionnaire (CCENSQ). The research was carried out with the view of finding out if variables such as gender, religion, number of children, length of marriage and educational background have any influence on the challenges and coping strategies of empty nest syndrome. The study revealed that the major challenges of the empty nest couples include missing the children, quietness of the home, loneliness etc while coping strategies included develop new hobbies, increase interaction with spouse etc.