Stage 7 of the family life cycle is best described as?

• A. launching children
• B. family with adolescents
• C. later life
• D. childless couple

Answer: (A)

Stage 7 centers on launching children and adjusting to an empty nest. At this point, the offspring have reached independence and are leaving home for college, work, or starting their own families. The family’s developmental tasks shift from child-rearing to maintaining the couple’s relationship and reorganizing roles, routines, and finances to reflect a household without dependent children. This stage often involves renegotiating boundaries, redefining parental identity, and planning for future needs like aging parents and retirement.

This fits best because it specifically describes the period after children leave home and the family must adapt to that new dynamic, rather than focusing on adolescence, a childless couple, or later-life stages.