BreakingNews·190823 - 孩子離開家后，父母會更快樂

Many of us believe that having children is the key to happiness and a perfect family life. Naturally, this idealistic image is true for some, but researchers say that in reality, children make us happiest when they fly the nest - when they have grown up and left home. Researchers in Germany looked at data from a survey of 55,000 over 50-year-olds living in Europe. The survey respondents were quizzed about their emotional wellbeing. The researchers discovered that most parents were happier with life after their offspring had left home and started making their own way in life. Researchers say this could be because raising children creates financial worry, stress, fatigue and anxiety.

我們很多人都相信有孩子是幸福和完美家庭生活的關(guān)鍵。當然，這種理想主義的形象對一些人來說是正確的，但研究人員說，實際上，孩子們在長大離開家后“飛巢”時最快樂。德國研究人員查看了一項對5.5萬名生活在歐洲的50歲以上人群的調(diào)查數(shù)據(jù)。調(diào)查對象被問及他們的情緒健康狀況。研究人員發(fā)現(xiàn)，大多數(shù)父母在他們的孩子離開家，開始獨立生活后，對生活更加滿意。研究人員表示，這可能是因為撫養(yǎng)孩子會帶來財務(wù)上的擔憂、壓力、疲勞和焦慮。

The research was led by Christoph Becker at Heidelberg University. He concluded that a big reason for parents being happiest when their children leave home is that the tables are turned and the children provide more support to their parents. He said parents whose children no longer live with them suffer from fewer symptoms of depression and have a more positive outlook on life. Regarding the role reversal in providing support, Mr Becker said: "Children's roles as caregivers, providers of financial support or simply as a means of social contact might outweigh the negative aspects of parenthood." He added that maintaining family relationships may stave off loneliness in ageing parents.

這項研究由海德堡大學的Christoph Becker領(lǐng)導(dǎo)。他的結(jié)論是，當孩子離開家時，父母最開心的一個重要原因是形勢逆轉(zhuǎn)了，孩子們?yōu)楦改柑峁┝烁嗟闹С帧Ｋf，孩子不和父母住在一起的父母患抑郁癥的癥狀更少，對生活的態(tài)度也更積極。在談到提供支持的角色轉(zhuǎn)變時，貝克爾表示:“孩子作為照顧者、經(jīng)濟支持提供者或僅僅作為一種社交手段的角色，可能會超過為人父母的負面影響。”他補充說，維持家庭關(guān)系可能會延緩年邁父母的孤獨感。