The Senior Years

In families with children, the parents can experience either a great sense of loneliness or a newfound freedom as their children grow and leave the home. A few women, espe­cially those with traditional roles as wife and mother, become depressed about losing their primary roles as caretakers and mothers. The phrase “empty nest syndrome” iden­tifies the feelings of sadness and loss that many women experience when their children leave home or no longer need day-to-day care (Raup & Myers, 1989). Men and women both may have trouble adjusting to retirement if they derived a large sense of their iden­tity from their work. In other words, whether a career or family life is the source of a per­son’s gender identity, significant changes are common in the senior years that may in­volve difficult adjustments.

As people age, gender roles relax and become less restrictive. For example, older men tend to do more housework than younger men. Many are retired and spend more time at home, and some find that their wives are less able to handle the household by themselves. Similarly, women who are widowed or whose husbands become disabled must learn to care for their finances or learn other skills that their husbands may have previously handled.

 

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