The empty nests of elderly only-child parents in urban China-an analysis based on survey data from five provinces

This paper studies the status of empty nest only-child families in urban China,using data about these families taken from a 2015 survey conducted by the Institute of Population and Labor Economics,Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.Factors that determine the timing of empty nest periods and their duration for only-child parents are also analyzed.The data shows that more than half of the only-child parents surveyed in 2015 lived in empty nests.Some of these parents had been empty-nesters for as many as 25 years.During the life cycle of families,the empty nest status of elderly only-child parents shows different characteristics at different stages,as the only-children begin attending universities,start to work,get married,and have children of their own.There are empty nest periods in only-child families when the only-child leaves the parents for several years and periods when the child returns home and lives with parents for years.The living arrangements of only-child parents depend mainly on changes in the life needs of their only-children.Intergenerational support is focused on meeting the needs of only-children.

The relationship between diabetes‑related distress and self‑management in empty‑nest elderly patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus:The mediating effect of self‑efficacy

Objective:The aim of this study is to investigate the mediating effect of self‑efficacy between diabetes‑related distress and self‑management in empty‑nest elderly patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus(T2DM).Methods:A total of 347 empty‑nest elderly patients with T2DM from Jiangsu Province Hospital of Chinese Medicine and Affiliated Hospital of Yangzhou University were investigated by a self‑designed General Information Questionnaire,the Self‑efficacy for diabetes,the Diabetes Distress Scale,and the summary of diabetes self‑care activities.Diabetes‑related distress and diabetes self‑management were tested for correlation analysis with self‑efficacy.Meditational analyses were conducted to test the hypothesized mediating effects of diabetes self‑efficacy as an intervention variable between diabetes distress and self‑management.Results:About 68.59%of patients suffered from diabetes‑related distress.The results of bivariate correlations revealed that self‑efficacy was negatively correlated with diabetes‑related distress(r=–0.627,P<0.01)and positively correlated with self‑management(r=0.356,P<0.01).The relationship effects of diabetes distress on self‑management were fully mediated by self‑efficacy.Conclusions:Diabetes‑related distress prevails in empty‑nest elderly patients with T2DM.Self‑efficacy plays a mediate role between diabetes‑related distress and self‑management.Psychological intervention is contributed to reducing diabetes‑related distress.

Subjective Well-Being among Empty-Nest Elderly and Its Related Factors:Taking Guangdong Province as an Example

Objective:To explore the the status of happiness and social support of empty nesters in Guangdong Province and analyze the relationship between the above two variables.Method:Totally 1148 empty nesters(776 males,734 females)from 5 cities in Guangdong province are selected by stratified random sampling and conducted with Memorial University of Newfoundland Scale of Happiness(MUNSH),Social Support Rating Scale(SSRS),Mini-Mental State Examination(MMSE)and a self-edited questionnaire on the general information.Results:The total score of MUNSH is(10.20±6.37).The total score and the scores of the 3 dimensions of objective support,subject support,the use of support in SSRS are(30.79±5.51),(9.24±2.37),(19.38±4.95)and(9.22±2.15)respectively.Multiple variable linear regression show that are positively associated with the total scores of MUNSH(B=.227,.115,.098,.158,.082,respectively,P<.05).was negatively associated with total score of MUNSH(B=-.097,P<.05).Conclusion:It suggests that the sort of leisure,gender,progress rank,family characteristics,such as family economic condition and father’s career may be related factors of undergraduates life satisfaction.