The Empty Nest, Employment, and Psychiatric Symptoms

in College-Educated Women

Barbara Powel I Darien, Connecticut

The relationship of employment status to symptoms was studied in 40 graduates of an Eastern woman's college who had been out of college 35 years and were in their late fifties at the time of the study. All subjects were married women in the "empty nest" stage of life. Women employed full- time were found to have significantly lower symptom scores than women not employed outside the home, with women employed part-time occupy- ing an intermediate position.

One of the heaviest psychological costs involved in the tra- ditional housewife role is the distress experienced by many women when the demands of motherhood cease or diminish and they are faced with premature retirement. Despite the frequency with which this situation occurs, relatively few investigators have attempted to document it in terms of actual psychiatric problems.

Bart (1 971) found maternal role loss to be a significant factor in precipitating depression among hospitalized middle-aged women. Those with overprotective or overinvolved relationships with their children were particularly vulnerable to depression, with Jewish women being the most likely candidates. Lack of meaningful work involvement appeared to be a factor: although 8 of the 20 women interviewed held paying jobs, they did not consider their work impor- tant; and when asked what they were most proud of, none mentioned any accomplishment of their own-rather, they were proud of their chi ldren.

Requests for reprints should be sent to Barbara Powell, 7 Berry Lake, Darien, Connecticut 06820.

Psychology of Women Quarterly, Vol. 2(1) Fall 1977 35

36

PSYCHIATRIC SYMPTOMS A N D THE EMPTY NEST

Curlee (1969) reported that the onset of alcoholism in middle- aged women was frequently associated with the ”empty-nest syn- drome.” The 21 women in this category in the study were unusually dependent upon their husbands and/or children for their identity and their sense of worth and purpose. Like the Jewish mothers in Bart’s study, these women had built their lives around their families and had few interests not directly related to their husbands or children.

In a study of 81 family-oriented and career-oriented women graduates of the University of Michigan, all “with distinction alum- nae,” Birnbaum (1971) found that by the middle adult years the most pressing problems existed not for the successful career-committed women, but for the gifted homemaker faced with premature retire- ment. These women, dependent on their husbands for support and status, focused on motherhood as their life role and derived their sense of purpose from their family involvement. These women had lower self esteem and considered themselves less competent than either the married or single professional women in the study. They experienced feelings of isolation, failure, and disappointment.

Powell and Reznikoff (1 976) studied employment patterns, achievement drive, and sex-role orientation in relation to psychiatric symptoms in two samples of graduates of an Eastern woman’s college out of school 10 years and 25 years. Hypotheses relating to the empty nest could not be tested, since the majority of married women in the 25-year class st i l l had children living at home. Of the nine whose children had left home, seven were employed full-time and one part- time, and one spent 30 hours a week in volunteer work.

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the relation- ship of employment to psychological adjustment in a group of in- telligent, well-educated women who had entered the empty-nest stage of life. It was hypothesized that employed women would be in better mental health than would housewives, in keeping with Birnbaum‘s (1971) findings and with the lack of career involvement demonstrated by the depressed women in Bart’s (1 971) study and the alcoholic women investigated by Curlee (1 969).

,

METHOD

Subjects

Subjects were women in their late fifties who had graduated from an Eastern woman’s college 35 years before the study was initiated. This age

37

BARBARA POWELL

group was chosen because a similar study (Powell & Reznikoff, 1976) found that a majority of women who graduated from the same college 25 years before still had children living at home.

Graduates of the selected class listed in the most recent directory pub- lished by the alumnae office with mailing addresses in New England, New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, Virginia, or Washington, D.C., were included in the sample. These 194 individuals represented approxi- mately half of those listed in the directory for the class being studied.

Four weeks after the final (second wave) mailing, 94 questionnaires, or 49%, had been returned. Of these, 14 were eliminated because of high scores (21 and above) on the Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale (Crowne & Marlowe, 1960) leaving a sample of 80. Since the objective of the present study was to examine the empty-nest syndrome in married women, the nine widows, three divorcees, three never-married women, and three childless married women were elminated from the sample. Of the remainder, a surprising 22 reported that they still had one or more "chil- dren" (many in their twenties and thirties) living at home. The final sample included 40 empty-nest women whose children had all left home.

Questionnaire Methodology

The procedure used in Powell and Reznikoff's (1976) study was em- ployed. Subjects received a prel iminary letter introducing the investigator, followed a week later by another explanatory letter, the questionnaire, a stamped return envelope, and a stamped postcard to indicate that they had returned their questionnaire (to eliminate the necessity for coding). Sub- sequently, subjects who had not returned postcards received a second ques- tionnaire accompanied by another letter, envelope, and postcard.

Instruments

Background information. Information relating to graduate degrees, employment history, number and ages of children, marital history, volunteer work, unsatisfied ambitions, and awards and achievements was solicited in this section.

Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale. This 33-item scale (Crowne & Marlowe, 1960) was used to check on the truthfulness of the subjects' replies and eliminate the highest scorers from the final sample.

Twenty-Two hem Screening Score. This scale, developed for the Mid- town study (Langner, 1962) was selected to measure psychiatric impairment. Some general health questions were also included. Powell and Reznikoff's (1 976) earlier study indicated that the Twenty-Two Item Screening Score

38

PSYCHIATRIC SYMPTOMS AND THE EMPTY NEST

was a valid measure of psychiatric impairment for questionnaire studies of this type.

RESULTS

As Table 1 indicates, the hypothesis that employed women would exhibit significantly better mental health was upheld by the data. A t test between the women employed full-time and those not employed was significant at the .025 level.

Employment appeared to be more of a factor in mental health in the empty-nest women than in the other women in the same age group. While the same trends were exhibited in the entire group of 80 women, none of these differences reached statistical significance. In the 22 women with children st i l l living at home, no significant dif- ference in symptom scores was found between those employed and those not employed.

Without exception, the empty-nest women in the full-time em- ployed group had been working continuously for at least 10 years, and most had been working longer. While all but two (both teachers) had taken time out to raise their families, they had returned to work before all of their children had left home. One woman was employed as a secretary, but the others were all in professional occupations; five in teaching, three in library work, one in social work, one in psychology, one in public health, and one in retailing. Only three were currently involved in any volunteer activities in the community, although a majority had been at an earlier period of their lives. In response to the question, “Please briefly describe any major suc- cesses, honors, awards or achievements of which you are proud,” six

Table 1

Symptom Scores and Employment Status

in Forty “Empty Nest“ “omen

- Employment Status N X

Full Time 13 1.6

Part Time 14 2.5

Not EmFloyed 13 3.69

39

BARBARA POWELL

Table 2

Employment Status and Educational Attainment

Employment Status BA only MA Ph.D.

Full T i m e

Part Time

Not Employed

6 4

6 7

10 3

of these women mentioned some specific work-related accomplish- ment (i.e., “Tenure and promotion”; “ I was one of the first women teachers in the Harvard History Department”; “A Ph.D. at 51, a book at 53.” Two of these women also mentioned being proud of their children, one stating this first, the other listing it after her career accomplishments.

The part-time employed group represented varying degrees of career experience and commitment. Four women were in clerical positions and obviously, for their education, underemployed. Several had worked more or less continuously, although not on a full-time basis, and were seriously committed to their work. Six of these women were currently involved in community volunteer work, while most of the others had formerly been active. In response to the ques- tion about awards and achievements, four of these women men- tioned a personal career accomplishment (i.e., “Publish magazine articles regularly”; “Went to art school in my forties and won honors and awards there”, and a fifth mentioned volunteer work achieve- ment. Two said, ”Four wonderful children” and “three brilliant chil- dren,” making no reference to themselves. One commented: “I am in Who‘s Who of American women. My major accomplishment is a full, happy life, a husband I adore, five sons,, and interesting thoughts.”

Among the nonemployed women, nine were actively involved in volunteer work and several included comments about the impor- tance of volunteer work. In response to the question about awards and achievements, three mentioned the*ir fine children without refer- ence to themselves, or mentioned them as an afterthought; three mentioned volunteer accomplishments; and two mentioned career accomplishments.

40

PSYCHIATRIC SYMPTOMS AND THE EMPTY NEST

As Table 2 indicates, there was a clear trend toward higher edu- cational levels in the employed groups, but this difference did not reach statistical significance.

Turning to a consideration of the individual women who re- ported four or more symptoms (4+ symptoms being the level recom- mended by Langner for screening persons with significant impair- ment in life functioning), there was one woman with 4+ symptoms in the full-time employed group, four in the part-time employed group, and six in the not employed group.

Who were these women? The one woman with 4+ symptoms in the full-time employed

group wrote, “A good deal of my optimism was taken from me by the suicide of our son.” It could not be determined from the question- naire how recently this event had occurred.

In the part-time employed group, the 4+ women were, with one exception, among the less committed to their careers. One had a clerical job and another a low-paying research job. A third, formerly a full-time teacher, was now a substitute. The fourth was apparently a serious scholar; no explanation for her high-symptom score could be ascertained from the questionnaire.

In the unemployed group, two mentioned the recent retirements of their husbands as a factor in their present state of distress, one commenting, “ I am concerned that so many of our friends have died or are dying. With husband’s retirement and the prospect of poorer health, how does one escape the feeling of really being ’over the hill’?’’ This woman had raised three children, the youngest a girl of 22, and was 56 at the time she responded to the questionnaire. The other woman who mentioned retirement said she was taking Tofranil and was under the care of a psychiatrist. Also the mother of three grown children, she said that depression runs in her family. In re- sponse to the question, ”Do you feel that any of your major life ambitions remain unsatisfied?”, she replied, “No-I didn’t get smart about my potential until too late.” A third, who reported five symp- toms and wrote about the importance of volunteer work, answered this question, “Yes. I suppose a nagging guilt not to have returned to school (guidance or social work) and/or gainful employment when the youngest child entered college.” Another, the mother of six chil- dren (the youngest age 22) replied, “Yes-in that l would like a paid job not because of money but to prove to myself that I could earn a living.” A fifth, reporting seven symptoms, offered this comment: “My marriage has suddenly fallen apart-along with my health. I feel that if I had my full natural healthiness I could cope with the marital situation. But all my outside activities have been curtailed-and I am

41

BARBARA POWELL

necessarily confined to being alone too much for my own mental good.”

It seems likely that in all five cases the psychiatric problems exhibited by these women, who lacked serious involvement in the world outside their families, were at least partly induced by the loss of the maternal role from which they derived their primary identity. Of course, prior adjustment could not readily be determined from the questionnaire data, and conclusions drawn must thus be tentative. In the sixth case, a woman reporting 11 symptoms, the contribution of the empty-nest syndrome was not only apparent but was recognized and labeled. She wrote:

It was not my decision not to ever work outside the home after marriage. I married a man who forbade it. He thought a woman’s place i s in the home. Home and children have been very impor- tant to him. Although raising a family was sometimes frustrating, it was also very rewarding. It is gratifying to realize I was always here when they needed me. It is a happy thought to know that they are raised, educated through college, and happily married (so far). However, for my mental state, it might have been better to work when the children were older for now they are gone, we experi- ence the empty-nest syndrome. I have little personal sense of worth or satisfaction. I was so involved with family that I had little time to pursue personal interests (cultural and taking Uni- versity courses, etc.). Volunteer work does not seem to be enough. Now I have more time available, I do not have the health and energy for many new pursuits.

What about the seven women in this group (the not employed) who had three or fewer symptoms? Surprisingly, two of these, though they reported one or no symptoms, said they had experienced feel- ings of an impending nervous breakdown. Of the remaining five women, two reported extensive volunteer involvement, one working 15-20 hours per week and the other 35 or more hours. Both of these women held responsible volunteer positions with some status in the community .

DISCUSS ION

The fact that significantly higher psychiatric symptom scores were exhibited by women not employed outside the home than by women employed full-time, with part-time employed women oc-

42

PSYCHIATRIC SYMPTOMS AND THE EMPTY NEST

cupying an intermediate position, suggests that the traditional housewife role often has a tragic personal consequence for well- educated, upper-middle class women-premature retirement, some- times accompanied by anxiety and depression, as maternal demands cease or diminish. An alternate interpretation i s that women predis- posed to psychiatric disturbances do not tend to be employed outside the home.

However, Powell and Reznikoffs (1 976) study of two samples of younger women out of school 10 and 35 years failed to find signifi- cant differences in symptom scores between full-time, part-time, and not-employed women. The present findings thus at least tentatively suggest that while the conflicts between career and family respon- sibilities in younger women may offset the increased self-esteem of career-oriented women, the beneficial effects of career involvement on mental health becomes apparent in the later middle years. This finding i s in keeping with the higher self-esteem exhibited by career- oriented women in Birnbaum’s (1971) study and with Bart’s (1971) findings of depression following maternal role loss.

The present study also suggests that unless the degree of com- mitment to volunteer work approximates that of paid employment, it does not provide the same feelings of self-worth or accomplishment. Further investigation is needed to shed additional light on this point.

The findings of the present investigation are consistent with De- partment of Commerce statistics which clearly indicate that the more education a woman has, the more likely she is to remain in the labor force. The differences between the three groups in terms of graduate degrees held suggests that some process of selection occurred at an earlier date, with more highly motivated and energetic women con- tinuing their education beyond the bachelor’s level and setting the stage for subsequent work involvement.

Further studies on a much larger scale are needed to more accu- rately assess the differences in mental health exhibited by traditional and career-oriented women in their middle years. Such information could have an important bearing on life planning for women.

REFERENCES

Bart, P. Depression in middle-aged women. In V. Gornick & B. K. Moran (Eds.), Women in Sexist Society. New York: Basic Books, 1971.

Birnbaum, 1. Life patterns, personality style, and self esteem in gifted family-oriented and career committed women. Doctoral dissertation, University of Michigan, 1971. Dissertation Ab- stracts International, 1971,328, 1834. (University Microfilms No. 71-23, 698)

43

BARBARA POWELL

Crowne, D. P., & Marlowe, D. A new scale of social desirability independent of psychopathol-

Curlee, J. Alcoholism and the empty nest. Bulletin of the Menninger Clinic, 1969,33, 165-1 71. Langner, T. S. A twenty-two item screening score of psychiatric symptoms indicating impair-

ment. lournal of Health and Human Behavior, 1962, 3, 269-276. Powell, B., & Reznikoff, M. Role conflict and symptoms of psychological distress in college

educated women. journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 1976,44, 3, 473-479. U.S. Department of Commerce, 1970 Census of Population, Series PC(2)-5B, Educational At-

tainment. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1973. U.S. Department of Labor, Employment Standards Administration, Women Workers Today.

Washington, D.C.: Women's Bureau, 1974.

ogy. lournal of Consulting Psychology, 1960, 24 , 355-360.