Investigating the Role of Identity Gaps among Communicative and Relational Outcomes within the Grandparent–Grandchild Relationship: The Young-Adult Grandchildren's Perspective

Abstract

This study focused on the identity gap construct and examined its impact within the grandparent–grandchild relationship. It was hypothesized that identity gaps consist of three distinct dimensions: the personal-relational, personal-enacted, and relational-enacted gaps. Further, it was hypothesized that identity gaps would be positively related to topic avoidance and negatively to communication and relationship satisfaction. Undergraduates completed an online survey (N = 181), and the results supported the distinction between the three identity gaps. SEM analyses revealed that only the personal-enacted gap significantly predicted all outcomes, whereas the other gaps did not, thus providing partial support for the second hypothesis.