On the contrary, the findings of the research state that parents whose children do not leave home, have a far higher chance of suffering from depression
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Family separation caused no depression
Psychiatrists from the Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, conducted the research in collaboration with researchers in Thailand.
The objective of the research was to study whether the rural-urban migration of the offspring led parents to experience loneliness, isolation and depression.
Lead researcher Dr Melanie Abas noted, “A commonly held view is that out- migration of young people has starkly negative consequences for parents living in rural areas as they get older. However, surprisingly, our findings challenge the popular belief that family separation causes older parents to feel abandoned and lacking in support.”
For the purpose of the study, the team surveyed 1,147 parents in villages of rural Thailand. All these parents were above 60 years of age.
The researchers found that parents with all their children living outside the district were the least depressed, whereas parents with all their children living in the local area experienced maximum depression.
The possible explanations
Firstly, parents whose children left home tended to be younger, married, better educated and still working. These factors themselves reduce the risk of depression, researchers averred.
Secondly, many parents link failure to migrate with failed aspirations. This, in turn, increased the risk of conflict and depression. Also, many parents in Thailand depend on their children for sustenance. This purpose is best served, if the children move out of the house for good.
Dr Cliff Arnall, a psychologist specialising in relationships explained why he was not surprised by the findings of the Thailand study, “Not only do parents assume that once their child has gone to university they are gone for good, but children also assume they can just move back home when they please, without necessarily running it past their folks.”
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