Assessment of a family reveals that the youngest child has moved out of the family home to live alone. One of the other two children is married, and the other child has just gotten engaged. The nurse interprets this family to be in which stage of the family life cycle?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The family is in the stage of launching children and moving on, which requires accepting the multitude of exits and entries into the family system. The couple now renegotiates the marital system as a dyad, adult-adult relationships form between the grown children and parents, and relationships realign to include in-laws and grandchildren. Families with adolescents require increasing flexibility to include the children's independence as the adolescents move in and out of the system. Families in later life involve accepting the shift of generational roles while maintaining individual (or couple) functioning interests in the face of physiologic decline and exploration of new familial and social role options. The "leaving home: single young adults" stage requires acceptance of emotional and financial responsibility for oneself. This stage characterizes the child who has just moved out of the family home.

Assessment of a Family Reveals That the Youngest Child Has