Life satisfaction represents a relatively universal social goal. Research suggests familiar interactions of diverse types may shape life satisfaction, but many questions remain about the valence and relative importance of variables shaping life satisfaction. In this exploratory study, we examined the relationships between frequency of shared parent-child activities in early life stages and self-reported parental life-satisfaction after children leave home using a case study of NC State University and University of Texas at El Paso students’ parents (n=92). Frequency of shared housework with young children was the most important, and positive, predictor of life satisfaction among parents after the children left home, and shared religious activities were also a positive predictor. Conversely, frequency of playing sports with young children was a negative predictor of later life satisfaction among parents. We did not detect a relationship for shared visits to local parks. Current activity level and income level both positively predicted life satisfaction, but we did not detect relationships for gender or marital status. This preliminary research highlights several novel ways shared family activities may affect later life satisfaction among older parents, but requires larger scale research to assess if an how findings apply in other contexts.

The authors have declared no competing interest.

The author(s) received no specific funding for this work.

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The details of the IRB/oversight body that provided approval or exemption for the research described are given below:

The study was approved by the NC State University institutional review board (ethics committee IRB #: 12531).

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