Föräldrars upplevelser av att barnen flyttar hemifrån
En kvalitativ studie där föräldrar beskriver sina personliga erfarenheter av barnens flytt
The aim of the study was to describe parents' experiences of empty nest. The sample consisted of individuals who had experienced one child moving out of the parental home. Data were collected through qualitative semi-structured interviews and were analyzed by using thematic analysis. The thematic analysis revealed four themes, Concerns about the new time in life, Changing roles, Socializing in the family and Testing the relations. Due to the themes participants' stories reveal anxiety facing the time that will come when children takes the step to leave the nest. The experiences of the children moving out changed over time as well as the phases of the process to reach a new identity follows a progression. The relationship within the family is changing with new ways to communicate and socialize. This affects the parental relationship and leads to deeper relationship or in the direction of a separation. One conclusion is that mental preparation in the context and the time before moving out leads to positive experiences, which contributed to the relocation of a whole experienced as positive even if it starts with concern. Parents who discuss the new situation of life and prepare for changes improve the relationship.