First-Time Parents’ and Grandparents’ Perceptions of Personal Growth: A Dyadic Approach

Abstract

Drawing on the family systems theory and the theoretical concept of “linked lives,” this study examined personal growth among 340 Jewish Israeli pairs of parents and grandparents (680 participants) who had all recently (6–24 months earlier) undergone a major life transition: the birth of their first child or grandchild. The analysis examined the associations between personal growth and a series of other variables: self-esteem; perceived cognitive appraisals of threat, challenge, and self-efficacy; and perceived social support. In accordance with the theoretical approach, dyadic analyses based on the actor-partner interdependence model were used to assess the inter-relations between the two generations and their effect on the personal growth of each member of the dyad. The findings show that parents tend to perceive higher personal growth than grandparents, and that women tend to report higher growth than men. Furthermore, an individual’s experience of personal growth was associated not only with his or her own assessment of challenge, but with that of his or her parent or child as well. The results are discussed in respect to intergenerational perceptions and the potential mutual contributions to growth in both generations in the wake of these parallel life transitions.