BERKELEY, Calif., Dec. 4  -- Many think parents confronted with "an empty nest" are sad and lonely, but a U. S. study suggests children leaving home may help their parents' marriage.

University of California, Berkeley psychologists Sara M. Gorchoff, Oliver P. John and Ravenna Helson tracked the marital satisfaction of a group of women over 18 years, from the time they were in their 40s to when they were in their early 60s.

The study, published in Psychological Science, revealed that marital satisfaction increased as the women got older -- marital satisfaction increased for women who stayed with the same partners and for women who remarried.