Grandparents and Relationships with Older Grandchildren

Submitted by: Larry F. Forthun, Ph.D., Assistant Professor Human Development

Ruiz, Sarah A., Silverstein, Merril.  “Relationships with Grandparents and the Emotional Well-Being of Late Adolescents and Young Adult Grandchildren.”  Journal of Social Issues, v. 63, issue 4, (2007).

Introduction

Do close relationships with grandparents help to reduce the negative effects of being raised in a single parent or step-parent household?  In short, YES.  Past research has shown that grandparents can provide an important source of instrumental support in the care and supervision of children in single or divorced households.  This is especially true if the grandparents live in the same household as the grandchildren.  However, do these positive effects continue when the children grow older?  When instrumental care and supervision are less relevant?  The authors of this study set out to answer this question. 

Methodology

The researchers used data from the National Survey of Families and Households (1992-1994).  Participants were selected if they were between the ages of 18 -23 and had a living grandparent.  In all, 925 emerging adults participated (51% female, 13% African American, 6 % Hispanic).  The researchers assessed two dimensions of well-being:  depressive symptoms to represent negative feelings and self-esteem to represent a sense of self-worth.  Relationships with grandparents were assessed along three dimensions:  strength of emotional closeness, frequency of contact, and source of social support.  The quality of the relationship with parents was also included as a control variable.  Finally, participants were categorized into three family structures:  single-parent families, step-parent families, and intact families. 

Main Ideas

Influence of Family Structure

The researchers found that the emerging adult grandchildren who are raised in step-parent families report more depressive symptoms than those raised in intact families.  Step-parent families, especially if the remarriage occurred during the child’s second decade of life, are often characterized by family disruption as the child strives to renegotiate interpersonal relationships with the custodial and non-custodial parent, the step-parent, and step-siblings.  Likewise, the researchers found that the emerging adult grandchildren who report lower quality relationships with parents were also more likely to report depressive symptoms.

Influence of Grandparents

As expected, the researchers found that emerging adult grandchildren who report close relationships with grandparents also report fewer depressive symptoms.  This is true even among those who report close relationships with their parents; that is, grandparents continue to have a positive influence even when the grandchild reports a positive relationship with her/his parent.  Furthermore, the positive influence of grandparents on depressive symptoms was highest among those from single-parent families.  Unexpectedly, however, the positive influence of grandparents was also highest among those who reported a close relationship with parents.  This finding is inconsistent with the notion that attachment and cohesion with grandparents may act as a substitute when parent-child cohesion is low. 

In sum, the results suggest that grandparents are influential in reducing depressive symptoms among older grandchildren, especially among grandchildren from single-parent households.  Yet the influence is not independent of the relationship with parents.  The quality of the relationship between the parent and child plays an important role in the quality of the relationship between the grandparent and older grandchild. 

Implications for Extension Programs

This research has important implications for extension programming.  Most importantly, the findings suggest that any approach to working with grandparents and grandchildren from single, step, or intact families must include a multi-generational/intergenerational perspective.  Programs that promote positive interactions between grandparents and grandchild can be very beneficial.  This research demonstrated the positive influence that grandparents can have on older grandchildren, especially those from single-parent households.  However, the extension specialist cannot ignore the complex family system in which the grandparent and grandchild are embedded.  When designing intergenerational programs, the specialist should consider:

  • The nature of the relationship between the grandparent and grandchild
  • The nature of the relationship between the parent and child
  • And, the nature of the relationship between the grandparent and parent

Conclusion

This study demonstrates that grandparents continue to be a positive influence, even as the grandchildren grow older and enter adulthood.  It also highlights the intergenerational complexity of the grandparent-grandchild relationship.  Far from being “complicated,” the complexity and diversity in family systems is an asset that can used to promote positive development across the lifespan.