Launching the children: Gender differences in parents' appraisals of a family transition

This study examined the impact of a major family transition, the launching of the children, on parents and sought to identify similarities and differences in the responses of mothers and fathers to this shared life event. The study asked (a) whether the gender of the parent or the gender of the child is related to how parents appraise and respond to this transition and (b) whether there are differences between parents just beginning the transition (ie. oldest child leaving home) and those completing the transition (ie. youngest child leaving home)? Eighty six sets of parents whose oldest or youngest child was a senior in high school and planning to live away from home during the next year participated in this study. Twenty six of the families had a son as the oldest child; 20 had a son as the youngest child; 20 had a daughter as the oldest child; 20 had a daughter as the youngest child. No stepfamilies, single parent families, or parents of an only child were used in the study. All parents completed measures assessing their appraisal of the impact of having the child complete high school and of having their child live away from home during the next year, their satisfaction with child outcome, their satisfaction with parenting this child, their marital satisfaction, their work satisfaction, and their family values.;Results indicate that there are no significant gender differences in the way mothers and fathers appraise the impact of this family transition. In addition, the appraisal ratings were quite positive, suggesting that the launching phase is not an overwhelming or traumatic experience for either mothers or fathers. However, parents just beginning the transition rated the transition significantly more negatively than parents completing the transition. There also were significant differences by gender of child in parents' satisfaction with the child outcome and their satisfaction with parenting the child. Both mothers and fathers indicated more dissatisfaction with their relationships with sons than with daughters. Finally, satisfaction with their marriages was significantly more positive for parents of youngest children than for parents of oldest children.