{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,29]],"date-time":"2026-07-29T06:58:26Z","timestamp":1785308306059,"version":"3.55.0"},"reference-count":38,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,29]],"date-time":"2026-07-29T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1785283200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Psychol."],"abstract":"<jats:p>\n                    Machine learning (ML) methods promise to enrich psychological research, yet worked examples that translate the logic of predictive modeling into psychological questions remain scarce. This study demonstrates a predictive ML workflow with ensemble feature selection, using the empty nest as its substantive case. Three research questions were addressed: whether empty-nest parents differ from parents whose children still live at home in happiness and life satisfaction (RQ1); which of 77 candidate predictors carry robust predictive signal for each wellbeing outcome (RQ2); and whether the same predictors operate in both groups (RQ3). European Values Study data (\n                    <jats:italic>N<\/jats:italic>\n                    = 43, 670 parents aged \u226545) were analyzed through propensity score matching, consensus feature selection across five complementary methods with nested cross-validation, and a three-phase group comparison. The groups showed virtually no difference in either wellbeing outcome, and this null result persisted after demographic matching. Because the design is cross-sectional, it concerns differences associated with empty-nest status rather than adjustment during the transition itself. Health status and perceived freedom\/control emerged as the strongest predictors of happiness, whereas life satisfaction drew on a broader set spanning personal resources, social connections, institutional confidence, and social capital, a pattern partly consistent with Self-Determination Theory, particularly its autonomy and relatedness needs. Predictors overlapped substantially between groups, with only a modest subset of robust group-specific interaction effects. The findings suggest that wellbeing among parents in midlife and later adulthood depends on factors operating across family configurations rather than on empty-nest status, and they illustrate how predictive modelling can complement hypothesis-driven psychological research.\n                  <\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3389\/fpsyg.2026.1888784","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,29]],"date-time":"2026-07-29T05:58:30Z","timestamp":1785304710000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Predicting wellbeing in empty-nesters: an ensemble machine learning approach with data-driven feature selection"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"17","author":[{"given":"Wael","family":"Khreich","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Suliman S. Olayan School of Business, American University of Beirut","place":["Beirut, Lebanon"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Mona","family":"Ayoub","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Psychology, American University of Beirut","place":["Beirut, Lebanon"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,29]]},"reference":[{"key":"B1","first-page":"13","article-title":"The moderating role of optimism in the relationship between empty nest syndrome and life satisfaction in middle age adults","volume":"1","author":"Anike","year":"2023","journal-title":"Caritas J. Psychol. Behav. Sci"},{"key":"B2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"69","DOI":"10.1007\/s10804-013-9180-8","article-title":"How do parents react when their children leave home? an integrative review","volume":"21","author":"Bouchard","year":"2014","journal-title":"J. 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