from:Ruiqing Wang
The term “empty nest” is a concept that has emerged in the study of family life and sociology.It originally refers to families without children or with children who have grown up and left to establish their own households, leaving the elderly living alone in a pure elderly household.The term “urban empty nest family” refers to families where children have grown up and moved away, either to other provinces or abroad, leaving only the elderly living in the city. Urban empty nest elderly are the elderly living in such family structures.
The formation of empty nest families is a phenomenon on the rise. Along with social and economic development and changes, nuclear families have come to dominate. In China, the transition from a population production model characterized by “high birth rates, low death rates, and high natural growth rates” to one of”low birth rates, low death rates, and low natural growth rates has been influenced by the implementation of family planning policies. This has led to a smaller number of children in families, and at the same time, changes in people’s lifestyle, mobility, and other factors have contributed to the “empty nest” phenomenon. It is predicted that the number of urban empty nest elderly will continue to increase. According to the census, by the year 2000, China’s elderly population had reached 160 million, accounting for 12.7% of the total population, of which 40% were empty nest elderly, amounting to 24 million people.Furthermore, there are those who are childless or have children who are unable to provide adequate care, which will determine the future quantity of empty nest households. Therefore, in the coming decades, the proportion of urban empty nest elderly is expected to reach an astonishing level. At this point, analyzing the social and psychological issues of urban empty nest elderly and discussing solutions becomes of immediate importance.
II. Social and Psychological Issues andAnalysis of Urban Empty Nest Elderly
Maslow believed that every individual has certain innate values, similar to an instinctual potential or basic needs, and that people seek to realize these potentials. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs categorizes human needs into five levels: physiological needs, safety needs, love and belonging needs, esteem needs, and self-actualization needs, arranged from lower to higher levels. According to this theory, the needs of the elderly can be summarized into three levels:
- The first is the need for survival, which includes meeting the most basic requirements such as clothing, food, shelter, hygiene, safety, and health.
- The second is the need for emotional fulfillment, which includes satisfying the needs for family affection, friendship, and emotional life.
- The third is the need for development, which involves enriching oneself and receiving affirmation from others and oneself in leisure activities, socializing, and expanding knowledge.
When these three levels of needs are not met, the elderly may encounter various social and psychological issues. The social and psychological issues of urban empty nest elderly can be summarized as follows.
(1) Insecurity and Anxiety Due to Lack of
Assurance Surveys indicate that most urban empty nest elderly live on their pensions and are economically secure to a large extent. What they lack is the assurance in their daily lives.As people age, their physiological functions decline, and their ability to take care of themselves in daily life decreases. The elderly may struggle to complete simple daily tasks such as bathing, dressing, laundry, and eating, which can lead to feelings of helplessness and depression. If they are unable to manage their daily lives, the quality of life for the elderly will inevitably decrease, leading to a decline in health conditions and creating a vicious cycle.
With the increase in life expectancy, people’s health deteriorates, and they become more susceptible to diseases. Empty nest elderly, especially those who are single, are very cautious about their health because they fear getting sick, being unable to take care of themselves, and becoming a burden to others, including their own children or hired caregivers.
For these elders, there is a reluctance to be in debt to others for care, and they may not fully trust non-family members. What’s more worrying is the sudden onset of acute illnesses, which can leave them feeling powerless and unable to seek immediate medical attention, especially if they have not gone out for a long time and find it difficult to get to a hospital in an emergency.This situation places urban empty nest elderly in a constant state of anxiety, which is not conducive to their mental well-being.
(I) Discomfort from Role Interruption
In sociology, a social role refers to the pattern of behavior that is determined by a certain social status and conforms to certain social expectations. It is a reflection of a person’s various social attributes and relationships. When individuals enter old age, they undergo not only physical and physiological changes but also changes in their social roles.
On one hand, as people reach a certain age, they retire. If the elderly are not fully prepared for their new role and cannot adapt, they often find themselves in a situation of role interruption.
Role interruption refers to the conflict that occurs between two successive roles that a
person undertakes. The specific reason is that after the elderly leave their work positions, they transition from being builders of society to being the supported and assisted, leading to various changes: shifting focus from career to family, from facing society to facing family, from a busy work life to a retired life with nothing to do, and the regular rhythm and content of life are completely altered overnight, making it difficult for the elderly to adapt.
On the other hand, in family life, as children become financially independent and mature in various aspects, the elderly gradually transition from being providers to being the ones who are supported, and from being the “head of the household” to being a “member of the household.” This shift in roles also leaves some elderly feeling at a loss.
(III) Loss and Emptiness due to
Monotonous Life
The transformation of social roles not only causes discomfort among the elderly but also a sense of loss and emptiness. Some elderly individuals fail to make reasonable plans for their future life.Empty nest elderly, once they lose their work as the central theme of their lives and cannot find a new theme, often find themselves with nothing to do, living in seclusion, and rarely engaging in social activities or interactions. For most empty nest elderly, daily activities are very simple, mainly consisting of household chores, watching TV, and exercising. In terms of social interaction, they have little contact with friends from their work life. The interpersonal relationships and social support network they had before retirement are often lost, and a new circle has not yet been established.
The fulfillment of personal development needs is primarily achieved through interpersonal communication, learning, and participating in various activities to enrich, realize, and develop oneself. Due to the low level of participation in interpersonal interactions and social activities among urban empty nest elderly, and the limited ways to do so, their personal development needs are hard to satisfy. Being in an empty home with children not around, they feel no longer needed or valued by the outside world, as if they have been abandoned. Some elderly individuals, due to inherent personality flaws, lack the confidence and courage to plan their later years and lose interest in life.
(IV) Depression Caused by Loneliness and Solitude
In fact, there is not much difference between urban empty nest elderly and non-empty nest elderly in terms of meeting developmental needs; the main difference lies in the fulfillment of emotional needs. In terms of emotional needs, children, spouses, and relatives play a significant role in providing spiritual comfort, with the role of children being the most important. Due to traditional Chinese thoughts of “raising children to support the elderly” and valuing “family happiness,” elderly people who have devoted a lot of energy and resources to their children when they were young expect to be well taken care of by them in their old age, hoping that they can visit often or stay by their side. However, nowadays, young people’s support for the elderly is more materialistic, neglecting the spiritual needs of the elderly. Since children do not live with them year-round, the emotional needs of empty nest elderly are not met, leading to feelings of loneliness, melancholy, and depression. At their age, they are also more likely to experience the death of peers, friends, or spouses, which further reduces their social circle, exacerbates their negative emotions, and creates a significant emotional burden.