An exploration of marital satisfaction, depression & quality of life in a sample of Lebanese post-parental mothers

Abstract

The post-parental stage of the family life cycle has generated a fair amount of divergent research depicting the experiences of parents left behind after all their children have been launched into the world. Given Lebanon’s historically high youth emigration rate, and the paucity of research on the subject, this study aimed to examine chosen facets of well-being in a group of Lebanese post-parental mothers. 60 participants were grouped according to when they emptied their nest relative to a 2-year cutoff, and completed self-report instruments on marital satisfaction, quality of life, and depression. Statistical analyses revealed no significant differences in depression and quality of life between mothers who emptied their nest before or after 2 years. However, mothers who have been in the post-parental period for more than 2 years reported significantly higher marital satisfaction than those who had launched their children anytime within the last 2 years. Additionally, prevalence rates of depression (55%) and poor quality of life (82%) in the overall sample were recorded. The findings imply that the marital quality of mothers in the post-parental period is initially impacted by the transition, but seems to improve later on. In an increasingly challenging economic and social climate, further research is needed to establish how Lebanese post-parental mothers adjust to this major life transition.