Psychological health and provision of grandchild care in non-custodial ‘baby boomer’ grandparents

Abstract

Our study explored the relationships between baby boomer grandparents’ mental health and the multiple roles they commonly fulfil: Grandchild care, other family care, home duties, and paid work. There is limited research on non-custodial grandparenting. Studies to date have suggested that psychosocial distress may be more associated with satisfaction levels than with actual time spent on activities, but these studies are mainly qualitative and have not always excluded grandparents who only provide secondary grandchild care. Our on-line survey asked 148 non-custodial Australian boomer grandparents (90 female, 58 male) providing regular sole or primary childcare for at least one grandchild about their experiences. Spearman correlations confirmed significant correlations between satisfaction and psychological health (distress and self-esteem), whereas time spent providing care was not significantly related to psychological health. Unlike previous researchers we identified few significant gender differences, perhaps because we focussed on grandparents providing sole or primary care. These outcomes provide direction for parents, grandparents, and policy makers addressing the needs of this social group.