“When the birds fly”: the family in an “empty nest” moment”

Abstract

Objectives: to identify changes and feelings presented in the family after the child (ren) left home and the coping strategies used to minimize this lack. Method: qualitative and exploratory study, developed in the town of Cuité-Paraíba, from April to May 2018, with 11 participants. The material was collected from interviews and analyzed according to the content analysis technique. Results: it raised three empirical categories: “Reframing the nest”, which addressed the main changes that took place in the family; “The sounds of birds: feelings that arise with the absence”, a category in which feelings experienced by family members were identified; and “In search of new flights: coping with the emptiness of the nest”, where the strategies used to minimize the lack of the child were observed. Final considerations: currently, the empty nest moment is expressed as a common event, thereby directly affecting health and family dynamics.

Keywords

• saúde mental