Grandparent Status Research Articles

The quality of relationships with adult children and depressive symptoms among grandparents

Objectives: The present study aims to identify distinct types of relationships between grandparents and their adult children, measure the associations between these relationship types and depressive symptoms among grandparents, and determine whether these associations vary by grandparent status. Method: This study uses data from a sample of 1,196 grandparents age 51 and older from the 2014 Health and Retirement Study. Latent class analysis (LCA) is applied and identifies types of grandparent–adult children relationships. Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) regression models are used to estimate the association between relationship types and depressive symptoms by grandparent status. Results: LCA identified four grandparent-adult children relationship types: amicable, ambivalent, detached, and disharmonious. Custodial and co-parenting grandparents were most likely to report having an ambivalent relationship with their adult children. Among co-parenting and custodial grandparents, disharmonious relationships were associated with more depressive symptoms. Conclusion: Interventions are suggested to improve emotional relationships with adult children and dyadic family relationships among grandparent families.

To be or not to be: relationship between grandparent status and health and wellbeing

BackgroundIt is common for older people to become grandparents in later life. However, the impacts of grandparenting on their health and well-being remain ambiguous, especially in Chinese society, where the family is in the core of culture. The current study explored the relationship between grandparenthood and Chinese older people’s health and psychological well-being in Hong Kong.MethodsCross-sectional data were collected from a sample of 1208 Hong Kong Chinese older people aged 55 and above through a telephone survey conducted in 2019. Participants were grouped into three categories: current grandparents (n = 507), grandparents-to-be (n = 275), and grandparents-not-to-be (n = 426). Multivariate linear regressions were performed to examine the relationship between grandparenting status and health and well-being outcomes, including self-rated physical health, mental health, resilience, and happiness. The potential moderating roles of older adults’ demographic characteristics, including age, sex, education, marital status, financial status, were also examined.ResultsBivariate analyses suggested statistically significant differences between health and well-being across the three groups of participants. Regression models showed that, compared with grandparents-not-to-be, being a current grandparent was associated with a significantly higher happiness level. Being a future grandparent was associated with significantly higher levels of happiness, resilience, and self-rated physical health. Moderating analyses showed that age, marital status, and educational level could moderate the relationship between grandparent status and resilience and self-rated mental health.ConclusionsThe current study offers preliminary insights into the significant relationship between grandparenthood and older adults’ health and well-being. It calls for future studies to further explore the mechanisms between grandparenthood and the healthy ageing of different subgroups of older adults.

Is Raising Your Grandchild Bad for Your Health? The Association Between Custodial Grandparent Status and Health Biomarkers in Taiwanese Grandparents.

Data from two waves of the Social Environment and Biomarkers of Aging Study in Taiwan were analyzed to determine the effects of custodial grandparenting on health in a longitudinal sample. Self-reported measures on respondents’ perception of their health, six health biomarkers, the presence of twelve diseases, and a measure of stress were included. Custodial Grandparents (CGPs) were significantly more likely to report worse health than their peers. However, there were no significant differences in biomarkers, and CGPs were only significantly different from non-custodial grandparents (nCGPs) regarding lower respiratory disease. Results suggest that CGPs do not have significantly worse health than nCGPs, but report feeling less healthy. This disparity is suspected to be due to energy levels or stress sources not assessed by the variables in the original study. These results and their implications based upon the stress-coping model elucidate the need to design interventions that incorporate the East Asian cultural values and practices in order to promote better health outcomes for CGP populations overall.

STRENGTHS OF GRANDPARENTING: ASSOCIATIONS WITH DAILY WELL-BEING

Potential long-term health benefits may be afforded to grandparents in close contact with their grandchildren, although whether such benefits are visible on a day-to-day basis and among others in similar caretaking roles is unclear. We investigated how the quality and quantity of social contacts, as well as caretaker or grandparenting roles, may mediate symptom perceptions in day-to-day context in a consecutive six-day period. Older adults were recruited using an online survey service aged 59-88 years (Mage= 64.8, 55.8% grandparents, 67.8% female). Participants completed a baseline survey (N=152) followed by up to six daily surveys (N=85 of 152). Measures included daily positive and negative affect, and overall frequency of physical health symptoms. Daily social contacts were rated by participants in terms of importance/closeness of the contact. Last, participants indicated the degree of regular contact and non-custodial caretaking roles of children and their grandparent status. Findings indicated that grandparents tended to report daily contacts with closer social convoy members (B=1.40 (.437); p = .002). Moreover, a trend of reduced symptom reporting across days for grandparents was observed (B=-0.145 (.073), p=.048) adjusting for sex and age. Last, grandparents who regularly took care of their grandchildren and reported increased daily positive affect, reported fewer symptoms throughout the week (B=-0.326 (.139), p=0.02). Although modest, results indicate potentially important health benefits of grandparenting in terms of daily physical functioning that may play out over the longer term to impact health and well-being.

THE MODERATING EFFECT OF RAISING ONE’S GRANDCHILDREN ON THE RELATION BETWEEN SLEEP AND DEPRESSION

Recent evidence has shown that poor quality sleep is associated with depression, particularly among older individuals (Bao et al., 2017; Nadorff, Fiske, Sperry, & Petts, 2012). Moreover, given the high prevalence of depressive symptoms among older adults, it is important to identify possible risk factors of poor sleep quality. One possible risk factor is being a custodial grandparent (raising one’s grandchildren), as increased caregiving responsivities are associated with increased depressive symptoms (Brand-Winterstein, Edelstein, & Bachner, 2018). Based upon these previous findings, the current study examines the effect of custodial status on the relation between sleep quality and depressive symptoms. The sample (N = 466) was a subset of individuals recruited in the second wave of the MIDUS biomarkers project completed in 2009 who answered the sleep, caregiving, and depressive symptoms variables of interest. Measures included the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CESD), the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), and a question regarding custodial grandparent status. The current study aimed to examine whether poor sleep quality might serve as a risk factor for experiencing depressive symptoms and how custodial grandparents might differ from other older adults. Moderation analyses were conducted using SPSS’ Process macro on the sample. The interaction between global sleep quality and custodial grandparent status was significant in predicting depressive symptoms, t (1, 465) = 3.90, p = .04, such that custodial grandparents reported a stronger positive correlation between greater global sleep problems and depressive symptoms than non-custodial grandparents. Implications, future directions, and limitations are discussed.

The Transmission of Inequality Across Multiple Generations: Testing Recent Theories With Evidence From Germany

This article shows that across multiple generations, the persistence of occupational and educational attainment in Germany is larger than estimates from two generations suggest. We consider two recent interpretations. First, we assess Gregory Clark's hypotheses that the true rate of intergenerational persistence is higher than the observed rate, as high as 0.75, and time-invariant. Our evidence supports the first but not the other two hypotheses. Second, we test for independent effects of grandparents. We show that the coefficient on grandparent status is positive in a wide class of Markovian models and present evidence against its causal interpretation.

Measuring Meaningful Time Experiences in Intergenerational Relationships

Contradictions often emerge between how adult family members would like to spend their time and how time in their daily lives is actually spent. Prior research indicates that individuals desire more quality time spent with loved ones, but that finding the time to do so in our fast-paced American society is challenging (Robinson & Godbey, 1999). Time demands from external obligations (e.g., participation in paid labor) limit the amount of available time to spend in more meaningful activities, such as contact with older family members. Because family time is compromised, adults experience feelings of guilt and regret over the lack of time spent with their aging family members (Peters, Hooker, & Zvonkovic, 2006). As a result, many try to manage the experience of guilt rather than make actual behavioral changes. Feelings of guilt and regret about how time is spent are further complicated when family members are elderly, ill, or die.As families age, it may become more challenging to experience quality, meaningful time with each other (in light of competing life demands); however, it is the perception of quality of time spent together (rather than quantity of time or proximity) that more likely enhances well-being (Roberto, Allen, & Blieszner, 1999). To date, there are no psychometrically sound measures that adequately capture the depth of meaningful time experiences between older parents and their family members.A new measurement instrument was developed by examining the intergenerational ambivalence theoretical framework (Luescher & Pillemer, 1998) and family gerontology literature related to emotional outcomes from interactions, studies of shared time, debating family time verses family leisure activities, and older parents' perceptions of time. The survey proposed is called Meaningful Time Experiences in Intergenerational Relationships. The ten items represent the four categories in the literature listed above. The purpose of this measure is to capture how older adults value shared time experiences with family. This measure would be particularly useful to integrate with other research surveys or along side qualitative interviews. Questions are based on micro events of interactions such as conversations, visits, exchanges of help, and memories of the past that are still relevant to the relationship in present time.The survey is designed for asking about a family relationship with someone from a different generation, older than 18 years (adults). Other short introduction questions assess the respondent's family relationship type (e.g., biological, legal), parent or grandparent status, and age or cohort membership (Willson, Shuey, & Elder, 2003). As an alternative of asking the respondents' age and the age of the corresponding family member, the age could be exchanged for year born for cohort analyses of family relationships. All ten survey items are presented with an example quote from an older parent who participated in the qualitative study that was the research source for the development and theoretic work behind this measure. The shortness of the scale is suitable for research with the older population and could even be asked verbally in future studies.Older Parent StudyIn the present study we conducted semi-structured interviews with older parents (M = 76 years) to examine the perspectives of mothers and fathers discussing relationship experiences with their adult children. Relationship dynamics and experiences with 75 adult children were the focus of the interviews, however, additional ties with grandchildren and in-laws were also discussed. Participants were interviewed in their homes, so field observations became an additional data source, particularly for the assessment of socio-economic status. The sample ranged with older parents from working class to upper-middle class backgrounds. Socio-economic status depended on current household characteristics, occupational history, and lifestyle conditions including sources of income, levels of assistance, and ability to financially assist other people. …

Parents' Reactions to Their Children's Separation and Divorce at Two and Four Years

This study examined how parents' gender and grandparent status were related to their reactions to their children's marital dissolutions at two and four years after the initial marital separation. Fathers were just as reactive as mothers to the situation initially, and over time. Although generally similar to nongrandparents, grandparents reported increased feelings of responsibility and embarrassment over time. About half of the parents reported increased reactions of loss, surprise, and feeling upset. Older parents were initially more bitter, and became more upset over time. Implications for future research, as well as family interventions, are discussed.

Gender and perceptions of grandparenthood.

Grandparents (N = 301) were interviewed concerning their relationship with one grandchild; topics included the meaning of the relationship, responsibility toward the grandchild, and satisfaction with the relationship. Grandparent gender by grandchild gender by maternal/paternal grandparent MANOVA's revealed no differences in the relationships associated with grandchild gender or with maternal/paternal grandparent status; nor were there significant interaction effects. Grandmothers expressed greater satisfaction than did grandfathers; grandfathers stressed family extension through grandchildren and the pleasures of indulging grandchildren to a greater extent than did grandmothers. These gender differences may reflect personality development in adulthood and the cultural context of the research.

Parenting and Parentage: Distinct Aspects of Children's Importance

This paper explores the attitudes concerning childrens importance in ones life over time. Children add a special dimension to the lives of their parents and grandparents. Interviews with select older couples suggest that these attitudes change over time. 6 retired couples were intensively interviewed who represent 6 distinct family composition patterns including a childless couple adopted couple blended couple parent couple grandparent couple and great grandparent couple. 30 attitude statements were presented to each couple using the card sort procedure to assess if the statement were of primary importance of intermediate importance or irrelevant. Results reveal that reasons motivating one to become a parent may be quite different from the actual satisfactions derived from the parenting one has done. Wives seemed particularly conscious of the parenting role; husbands identified more strongly with the mere fact of ones being a parent (parentage). Childless persons or older parents who had not also realized a grandparent status were sensitive to their not having fulfilled a role most others perform; this was especially evident for women. These findings emerging from exploratory research on the importance of children to life satisfaction during retirement have implications for prospective parents and grandparents adoptive parents and the childless. (authors modified)