Caring for Grandchildren and Grandparents’ Physical and Mental Health Changes

Abstract

Using the Korean Longitudinal Study of Aging Waves 1–5, we examined how the transition and duration of grandchild care influenced the health of grandparents. The participants in this study were 5870 KLoSA grandparents who had one or more grandchildren. Using latent class analysis grandparents were classified into four groups: provided continuous grandchild care, initiated grandchild care, stopped grandchild care, and did not engage in grandchild care. Using growth curve modeling analysis the differences in initial level and changes over time in health of these four groups of grandparents were analyzed. The primary results were that the initial physical and mental health status of these four groups of grandparents were different. Grandparents who reported a lower level of physical pain were more likely to initiate grandchild care, whereas grandparents who reported increased pain over time were more likely to stop providing grandchild care. Subjective health of grandparents who took care of their grandchildren increased when they stopped caring for their grandchildren. These results indicated that whether or not grandparents provided care to their grandchild appears to be determined by the initial health of grandparents. However, there was little difference in the changes in physical and mental over time between the grandchild care classes.