Age Of Grandparents Research Articles

THE IMPACT OF TECHNOLOGY USE ON CUSTODIAL GRANDPARENTS’ DEPRESSION

Abstract During COVID-19, custodial grandparents experienced symptoms of depression due to social isolation, and technology use may reduce depression. This study examines the association between level of comfort of using technology and depression among custodial grandparents. Cross-sectional survey data (N = 287) were collected via multiple sources, including state agencies, local non-profit organizations serving kinship families, foster parent associations, schools, and Qualtrics Panels between March 2021 and March 2022. The average age of grandparents was 55 years. Over half were female (71.43%), had some college education (68.75%), and were White (55.12%). Depression was measured using the CES-D 10 scale. This variable was dummy coded using 8 as the cutoff score (Andresen et al., 1994). The level of comfort using technology was measured by combining four survey questions. Grandparent age, race, gender, marital status, home ownership, geographic area, disability, employment, education, physical health, telehealth, and telemental health were controlled. The logistic regression model revealed that those who had a higher comfort level with technology had significantly lower odds of having depression (OR = .543, p = < .001). Those with physical health had significantly lower odds of having depression (OR = .727, p = .044). Grandparents who needed telehealth (OR = 2.81, p =.005) and telemental health services (OR = 2.93, p =.003) had significantly higher odds of having depression. This research implies that custodial grandparents’ use of technology, particularly their comfort levels with technology may reduce depression among grandparents. This will inform practice and policy for those who work with custodial grandparents.

Stereotyping Older Adults: How Labels and Perceived Age Influence Ratings

ABSTRACT Ageist language can bias research, with past findings indicating that labels such as ‘elderly’ invoke more negative stereotypes than neutral labels. We investigated how labels, contact, and perceived age influence stereotypes of older adults in Germany. One hundred and sixteen German-speaking participants (age-range = 14–33) reported their stereotypes and perceived age for one of three labels for older adults and reported contact with their grandparents. Targets labeled as ‘people the age of grandparents’ were perceived as older (modal age-range 70–90 years) and targets labeled as ‘older adults’ (modal age-range 50–70 years) as younger than those labeled ‘people 70–85 years of age.’ Stereotype ratings did not vary by label but were more negative when the target was perceived as older and more positive when contact with own grandparents was higher. Researchers and practitioners should use care in selecting labels when conducting and communicating their research as well as working with older adults.

112 Becoming parents again: the challenges of raising grandchildren as main caregiver

Abstract Background ‘Skipped generation households’ in which grandparents are the main caregiver to children under 18 years of age, are becoming common in Canada. Reasons for this include teen pregnancy, the death of a parent, mental illness and addictions. These grandparents and the grandchildren they care for are at significantly increased risk of physical and mental illness, yet receive less psychosocial and financial assistance compared to children that enter the foster system. Research on this population in Canada is limited. Objectives Our study aimed to use the lived experiences of skipped generation families to better identify their needs in the healthcare system. Design/Methods We conducted semi-structured interviews of grandparent primary caregivers from ten households in our community to chronicle their lived experiences raising their grandchildren. Participants were identified and recruited by general pediatricians using convenience sampling. Interviews were recorded, transcribed verbatim, coded using Atlas.ti software and classified into themes by consensus. Results A total of 11 primary caregiver grandparents from 10 households participated in interviews. Nine participants were female. The average age of grandparents was 56 years (range 45 to 64 years) and on average they had been caring for their grandchild for 4 years (range 0.9 to 9 years). Eight households began caring for their grandchild following involvement of the Department of Community Services. Five primary themes emerged from the interviews: Changes in family dynamics, psychosocial impact on grandchild and grandparent, lack of resources for grandparent caregivers, challenges parenting later in life, and resilience inspired by the love of family. Many participants described feeling unsupported, both financially and emotionally, after assuming care of their grandchildren and identified a need for additional counselling services, childcare subsidies and assistance through respite care. All participants involved highlighted that caring for their grandchildren changed their lives in many positive ways. Conclusion While grandparents are frequently prioritized as caregivers of apprehended children, our study suggests that they are also disproportionately under-resourced and poorly supported relative to children that instead enter the foster care system. Based on these findings, we urge for the provision of critical resources to address the emotional, respite and financial needs of these vulnerable children and their grandparents.

The implications of childcare on grandparents' health self-management in a Chinese elderly population.

Grandparents caring for grandchildren has become a common experience in China. However, the health implications of grandparenting, especially for health self-management, remain unclear. A cross-sectional study was conducted to investigate the effects of grandparenting on health self-management in older adults in China. Information on socioeconomic characteristics, grandparenting, and health self-management was collected through interviewer-administered questionnaires. Age less than 50, male gender, higher education level, being a local resident, having a chronic illness, and supporting themselves financially were all factors that were significantly positively associated with health self-management (P < .05) in grandparents. Grandparenting characteristics, including caring for grandchildren at night, a caregiving burden of more than 50%, poorly behaved grandchildren, caring for grandchildren more than 6 hours per day, and caring for grandchildren less than 1 year in age were significantly negatively associated with health self-management in grandparents (P < .05). Multiple regression analyses indicated that grandparent age, receiving financial support from children, being a local resident, education level, grandchild behavior and age, and being an urban resident were all statistically significant factors associated with health self-management in grandparents involved in grandparenting. Taken together, these results suggested that financial condition and caregiving burden might be the major factors affecting health self-management in grandparents involved in grandparenting.

Childcare, Household Composition, Muslim Ethnicity, and Off-Farm Work in Rural China

ABSTRACTThis study explores how religious and ethnic norms and gender relations interact across the domestic and public spheres of work in rural China's minority-concentrated regions. It focuses on the roles that childcare and household composition play in the employment decisions of prime-age married individuals of Muslim and non-Muslim ethnicity. Using the 2012 China Household Ethnicity Survey (CHES), the study finds that children generally decrease women's likelihood of employment outside the home and increase men's. The gender gap in the probability of off-farm employment is larger for those of Muslim ethnicity. Non-Muslim parents of sons are more likely to migrate for employment than parents of daughters. The presence of women of grandparent age (46–70) universally facilitates labor migration. Men of grandparent age tend to increase only the probability that non-Muslim parents migrate for employment. Additional adult male household members reduce the likelihood that women of Muslim ethnicity have off-farm employment.

Depression, Social Support, and Mental Health: A Longitudinal Mediation Analysis in African American Custodial Grandmothers.

Custodial grandparents raising grandchildren experience intense levels of stress that can lead to depression and other forms of psychological distress. Drawing on a coping model of family stress, adjustment, and adaptation, we explored the relationship between depression and mental health quality of life mediated by social support and moderated by grandparent's age. The sample consisted of 667 African American custodial grandmothers, dichotomized into two age groupings, ≤55 (n = 306) and 55 + (n = 361). All grandmothers participated in a 12-month support intervention. The prospective analysis revealed social support was a mediator in the association between depressive symptoms and mental health quality of life for older African American grandmothers; however, this same relationship did not hold for their younger counterparts. Study limitations and future research directions are discussed.

Age at childbearing over two generations and grandchildren's cognitive achievement

We examine whether grandparents’ and parents’ ages at birth are associated with grandchildren's early cognitive achievement, and whether grandparents’ or parents’ socioeconomic status, health, and marital status mediate those associations. Our analysis is based on data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics and its Child Development Supplement. A grandparent's age at the birth of their own children is robustly and positively associated with grandchildren's verbal achievement, but not with grandchildren's applied mathematics achievement, after controlling for parents’ age at the grandchild's birth. The associations are similar in magnitude for grandmothers and grandfathers. A variety of indicators of social class in the grandparent and parent generations did not mediate this age effect. However, many of those indicators of grandparents’ social class were directly or indirectly related to grandchildren's achievement.

What Makes New Grandparents Satisfied with Their Lives?

The study examined the contribution of sociodemographic characteristics, perceived stress, and cognitive appraisals of grandparenthood to life satisfaction among new grandparents. The theoretical framework was Lazarus and Folkman's stress and coping model and the positive psychology approach. The sample consisted of 246 Israeli grandparents (aged 42-72 years) who completed a set of questionnaires 3-24 months after the birth of their first grandchild. The results showed that higher levels of life satisfaction were associated with younger age of grandparents, higher levels of physical health and economic status, and lower grandparent distress. Moreover, maternal grandparents reported higher appraisals of challenge and threat than did paternal grandparents, and grandfathers reported a higher perception of dysfunctional interaction with the grandchild than did grandmothers. Most importantly, the participants' cognitive appraisals were found to moderate the perceptions of stress generated by the birth of a first grandchild. The study highlights the need for preventive interventions aimed at promoting factors that can empower new grandparents who have difficulty coping with their new role.

Adolescent grandchildren's perceptions of grandparents' involvement in UK: an interpretation from life course and evolutionary theory perspective.

In this article, we study grandparental involvement from the viewpoint of evolutionary theory and sociological life course perception. We have used 'the Involved Grandparenting and Child Well-Being 2007' survey, which is the first nationally representative sample of British and Welsh adolescents aged 11-16 (n=1,488). First, we explore with the descriptive statistics the amount of grandparental involvement reported by adolescents. The result follows the predicted pattern: maternal grandparent is reported to involve in a grandchild's life the most, second maternal grandfather, third paternal grandmother and the last paternal grandfather. Second, we focus more closely on separate grandparents and show with four linear regression models which factors are connected to each grandparent's involvement. Grandchild's age, grandparent's health, grandparent's labour force participation and distance between a grandparent and a grandchild were factors that have similar effects in relation to all grandparents. Marital status mattered only for grandfathers, whereas family structure of a grandchild has opposite effects in relation to maternal and paternal grandparents. Grandchild's sex, grandparent's age, the number of grandchildren and the number of living grandparents all mattered, but only with respect to some grandparents. The study shows that it is advantageous to merge sociological and evolutionary viewpoints when studying a grandparental involvement in a modern society.

Advanced paternal and grandpaternal age and schizophrenia: A three-generation perspective

BackgroundAdvanced paternal age has been linked with an increased risk of schizophrenia in the offspring. If age-related de novo mutations in the male germ line underlie this association, grandpaternal and paternal age would both be expected to influence the risk of schizophrenia. The aim of the current study was to explore the links between both paternal and grandpaternal age with respect to the risk of schizophrenia in a large, national register-based cohort. MethodWe linked the Swedish Multi-Generation and Hospital Discharge Registers and compared parents' ages at offspring birth for 20,582 schizophrenia-affected and 100,176 non-affected individuals. Grandparents' ages at the birth of the parent were compared between 2511 affected and 15,619 non-affected individuals. The risk of schizophrenia was examined with logistic regression when the predictor variable (parent or grandparent age) varied across age strata. ResultsAfter adjusting for maternal age, birth year and proband sex, we confirmed that offspring of older fathers had an increased risk of schizophrenia. Compared to those with paternal age 20–24years, those with fathers >55years had a two-fold increased risk of schizophrenia. With respect to grandparent age, older maternal (but not paternal) grandfather age was associated with an increased risk of schizophrenia. Compared to maternal grandfather age 20–24years, those with maternal grandfathers >55years had a significantly increased risk of schizophrenia (adjusted odds ratio and 95% confidence intervals; 2.79, 1.71–4.56). The pattern of results was essentially unchanged when we examined male and female probands separately. ConclusionThis is the first study to report an association between grandpaternal age and risk of schizophrenia. The selective effect of advanced maternal grandfather age suggests that the biological mechanisms involving the X-chromosome may differentially contribute to the association between paternal age and offspring risk of schizophrenia.

P2-279 10-year mortality follow-up of maternal and paternal grandparents shows different patterns of association with their grandchildren's birth weights: the Lifeways Cross Generation Cohort Study

IntroductionAssociation between individual birth measures and chronic disease morbidity or mortality in their adult relatives contributes to evidence of developmental origins of disease. Internationally, only three studies to date have...

Grandmaternal ages at birth of parents of children with down syndrome in St. Petersburg

Data on the age of grandparents of 243 children with Down syndrome (DS) born between 1990 and 1999 are considered in this work in comparison with control families of 330 healthy children. In 102 families, where the age of the mother at the birth of a child with DS was younger 30 (or less than 30) years, the median ages of both maternal and paternal grandmothers of probands were actually the same (26 years). Actually, the median age of grandmothers in 226 young families having healthy children were also the same (27 years). No differences in the indicators in question were revealed between 141 families with DS and 104 families with healthy children, where the mothers were older than 29 years. Thus, our results have not confirmed the hypothesis about the influence of the age of DS probands’ grandmothers on the segregation of chromosomes in their daughters’ oogenesis, as well as the hypothesis about a significant contribution of the inherited trisomy of chromosome 21 to the frequency of DS in the general population.

Representations of Grandparents in Children's Books in Britain, Italy, Greece, Finland, and Poland

Grandparenthood is changing rapidly in different societies. Assumptions about the roles and potential of grandparents may not be keeping pace. Children learn and develop attitudes toward grandparents in part through media representations. Study 1 explores how grandparents are depicted in children's books: 149 images (87 grandmothers, 62 grandfathers) were obtained from children's picture books in Britain, Italy, and Greece. Content analysis suggests a homogeneous image of grandparents. Seventy percent of grandfathers and 59% of grandmothers have gray/white hair. More than 50% of grandparents are in sedentary physical activities: sitting, standing, lying in bed, and reading. Study 2 investigates whether the apparent age of grandparents in children's books differs by gender, nationality, or year of book publication in Britain, Italy, Greece, Finland, and Poland. Twelve adults in Britain and Italy and 10 adults in Finland estimated the age of each grandparent figure (from 40–44 years old to 90+). In every country, grandfathers were rated as significantly older than grandmothers. Grandparents are significantly older in Greek books than in British books and are significantly older in Polish books than in Finnish books. In Britain, Italy, Greece, and Finland, grandparents in children's books are older than the estimated average age of grandparents with young grandchildren. Implications of these media representations are discussed.

Hip Fracture Prevalence in Grandfathers Is Associated with Reduced Cortical Cross-Sectional Bone Area in Their Young Adult Grandsons

Parent hip fracture prevalence is a known risk factor for osteoporosis. The role of hip fracture prevalence in grandparents on areal bone mineral density (aBMD) and bone size in their grandsons remains unknown. The objective of the study was to examine whether hip fracture prevalence in grandparents was associated with lower aBMD and reduced cortical bone size in their grandsons. This was a population-based cohort study in Sweden. Subjects included 1015 grandsons (18.9 +/- 0.6) (mean +/- sd) and 3688 grandparents. aBMD, cortical bone size, volumetric bone mineral density and polar strength strain index of the cortex in the grandsons in relation to hip fracture prevalence in their grandparents were measured. Grandsons of grandparents with hip fracture (n = 269) had lower aBMD at the total body, radius, and lumbar spine, but not at the hip, as well as reduced cortical cross-sectional area at the radius (P < 0.05) than grandsons of grandparents without hip fracture. Subgroup analysis demonstrated that grandsons of grandfathers with hip fracture (n = 99) had substantially lower aBMD at the lumbar spine (4.9%, P < 0.001) and total femur (4.1%, P = 0.003) and lower cortical cross-sectional area of the radius (4.1%, P < 0.001) and tibia (3.3%, P < 0.011). Adjusting bone variables for grandson age, weight, height, smoking, calcium intake, and physical activity and taking grandparent age at register entry, years in register, and grandparent sex into account strengthened or did not affect these associations. Family history of a grandfather with hip fracture was associated with reduced aBMD and cortical bone size in 19-yr-old men, indicating that patient history of hip fracture in a grandfather could be of value when evaluating the risk of low bone mass in men.

농촌지역 조손가정 조부모의 건강과 영양상태

본 연구는 농촌지역 조손가정 조부모의 건강상태와 건강생활습관 및 영양상태를 분석한 탐색적 연구로 2009년 1월말 현재 지역사회서비스투자사업의 일환으로 실시되는 조손가구 57가구의 70명의 노인을 대상으로 하였다. 연구도구는 '전국노인장기요양보호서비스 욕구조사'도구와 간이영양 사정표를 사용하여 빈도, 백분율, 평균 점수를 분석하고, 이들 변수간의 관련성은 <TEX>$x^2$</TEX>-test, F-test 및 상관관계를 보았다. 조부모의 평균 연령은 70.1<TEX>${\pm}$</TEX>6.65세이었고, 생활수준은 67.2%에서 어려움을 보였으며 교육수준이 낮은 편이었다. 만성질 환율은 58.6%, 급성질환이환율은 5.7%, 우울노인이 20.0%, ADL과 IADL에서 수발이 필요한 조부모는 각각 14.5%, 35.7%에 해당되었다. 인지기능에서 장애는 22.7%, 낙상지수는 2.93점(표준편차<TEX>${\pm}$</TEX>1.09점)으로 나타나 낙상가능성을 시사해주었다. 건강생활습관에서는 흡연율 11.4%, 음주율 35.7%, 건강검진율 67.1%이었다. 영양점수는 평균 21.0점(표준편차 <TEX>${\pm}$</TEX>3.5점)이었으며, '영양양호' 37.8%, '영양불량경계역'56.8%, '영양불량' 5.4%, '비만' 44.6%로 나타났다. 일반적 특성에 따른 건강상태에서는 IADL, 우울상태와 낙상지수가 유의한 지표로 p<.01수준에서 성별, 연령, 생활수준, 배우자유무와 관련이 있었고, 건강특성과 영양상태에서는 급성질환(p<.05), ADL(p<.001), IADL(p<.01) 인지기능(p<.01)의 장애유무와 관련이 검정되었다. 조손가정 조부모의 일반적 특성, 건강상태, 건강생활습관과 영양상태와의 상관관계에서는 이들 지표간의 유의한 상관을 보였다. 따라서 앞으로 조손가정의 조부모의 건강상태에 관여되는 일반적 특성을 고려하여 건강생활습관의 개선이 가능한 건강증진사업을 도모함과 더불어 조손가정의 건강과 영양관리가 이루어질 수 있는 중재서비스의 개입이 이루어져야 할것을 제언한다. Objectives: This study was to identify and test the health and nutritional status of grandparents in grandparents-grandchildren family in rural area. Methods: The subjects of this study were 70 grandparents of grandparents - grandchildren family in Muan-Gun. The collected data were analyzed by descriptive statistics, regression analysis. Results: The average age of grandparents was 70.1<TEX>${\pm}$</TEX>6.6 years old, unhealthy of the subjective health status was 55.7%, MNA score was 21.0<TEX>${\pm}$</TEX>3.5 points and 62.2% of the grandparents were shown to have malnutritonal status. The ADL, IADL, depression and fall index of health status were significantly related to the relationship with gender(p<.01), age(p<.05), economic(p<.01) and educational level(p<.01), and partnership(p<.01). MNA score was significantly related to the relationship with acute disease(p<.05), ADL(p<.001), IADL(p<.01), cognitive function(p<.01) and gender(p<.01). And the health status variables and general characteristics were positively correlated while the relationships were positive between health status variables and MNA score. Conclusions: With the above findings, grandparents of grandparents-grandchildren family have the problems of health and nutritional status. Then health and nutritional intervention program for grandparents-grandchildren family is needed to serve.

Grandparents’ age and the risk of Down's syndrome in Norway

High maternal age is a well-recognized risk factor for Down's syndrome. There are also several studies of a possible effect of paternal age, but no consistent evidence of an association is found. Less is known about any effects of the age of grandparents. Objective. To assess whether maternal or paternal grandparents' age is associated with the risk of Down's syndrome. We used logistic regression analyses with data from the Medical Birth Registry of Norway, adjusting for possible confounding factors. We found no evidence of an association with the risk of Down's syndrome either for a maternal grandmother's age (odds ratio 0.9, 95% confidence interval 0.6-1.5 per 10-year increase in grandmother's age) or for any of the other grandparents' age. High maternal age remains the only well-established age-related risk factor for Down's syndrome. There is little evidence that the increased risk represented by older mothers is passed on to offspring of her non-affected daughters.

Grandparents use of new communication technologies in a European perspective.

This study examined the pattern of use of different forms of contact between grandparents and grandchildren, and especially the use of new technologies (SMS, e-mail) and factors affecting this. Questionnaire data are reported from 408 grandparents in the UK, Spain, Finland and Estonia, regarding contacts with grandchildren mostly in the 10-15-year age range. Face-to-face contact remained the most frequent mean, followed closely by landline telephone; there was moderate use of mobile phones, and many used letters/cards occasionally; and a minority used SMS and e-mails (about one-half to one-third of those with mobile phones, and networked computers, respectively). When contacting grandchildren, most grandparents accumulate different forms of contact, but others compensate some forms of contact. There were no differences by age of grandparent, but grandmothers made more use of e-mail than grandfathers, as did more highly educated grandparents and those with older grandchildren. Implications for use of Information and Communication Technology by older people are discussed.

Young Adults' Stereotypes of Older Adults With Their Grandparents as the Targets

Young adults' stereotypes of older adults have been well established in the literature, but the target of these stereotypes usually is an unknown older individual. Intergenerational interaction, however, is more common between people who are known to each other. Specifically, the older individuals with whom young adults most frequently interact are their grandparents. This study examines the role that closeness plays in mediating young adults' (n= 220) stereotypes of older adults. Consistently, young adults rate their closest grandparent more positively on exhibiting stereotypic behaviors and communicative ability than they do their least close grandparent. Although the grandparent's age does not influence the level of reported closeness, the level of closeness does influence perceptions of the older individual's behavior and abilities. Although closeness does mediate young adults' stereotypes of older adults, it does not preclude them from providing negative evaluations of some older individuals who are well-known to them.

Young Adults' Stereotypes of Older Adults with Their Grandparents as the Targets

Young adults' stereotypes of older adults have been well established in the literature, but the target of these stereotypes usually is an unknown older individual. Intergenerational interaction, however, is more common between people who are known to each other. Specifically, the older individuals with whom young adults most frequently interact are their grandparents. This study examines the role that closeness plays in mediating young adults' (n = 220) stereotypes of older adults. Consistently, young adults rate their closest grandparent more positively on exhibiting stereotypic behaviors and communicative ability than they do their least close grandparent. Although the grandparent's age does not influence the level of reported closeness, the level of closeness does influence perceptions of the older individual's behavior and abilities. Although closeness does mediate young adults' stereotypes of older adults, it does not preclude them from providing negative evaluations of some older individuals who are well-known to them

Legally Extending the Family

This article examines the structural forces influencing the enactment of grandparent visitation rights statutes. Cox regression is used to analyze demographic changes, social change, state litigiousness, and regional proximity as factors affecting timing of first enactment. States with higher proportions of people of grandparent age, of minor grandchild age, and higher levels of urban residence were more likely to enact than were other states. States with higher divorce rates and higher numbers of neighboring states that previously had enacted or enacted during the same year were less likely to enact than were other states. This project illustrates the need for more empirical testing of the influence of structural variables on the enactment of family policy.