Relaties met grootouders en het welzijn van kleinkinderen na echtscheiding

Abstract

Grandparents are often considered as providing important resources in times of family crisis. Little is known, however, about the influence of grandparents on the well-being of grandchildren after parental divorce. Guided by the family systems theory, this article investigates the association between the quality of relationships with grandparents and grandchildren’s subjective well-being. Using data from the study ‘Divorce in Flanders’, we compare 650 grandchildren with divorced and 276 with married parents regarding three indicators of subjective well-being (life satisfaction, self-esteem and anxiety) and also examine variation within the group with divorced parents. Results show that the strength of grandchild-grandparent relationships is positively associated with grandchildren’s subjective well-being. Compared to children with married parents, having a close relationship with a grandparent is even more related to the well-being of grandchildren whose parents are divorced. Moreover, for grandchildren who experience frequent conflicts between their divorced parents, having a good grandparent relationship is most strongly linked to their well-being.