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Table of Contents
Table of Contents: Full Table of Contents
Front Cover Half Title Page Title Page Introduction to Volume 3, Later Life
Active-Global Grandparenthood-Ryder
Grandparenthood Health Behaviors, Later Life Health Care Use, Later Life Health Differentials/Disparities, Later Life Health Literacy Hospice And Palliative Care Inheritance Intergenerational Transfers Leisure And Travel, Later Life
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Life Expectancy Lifelong Learning Loneliness, Later Life Long-Term Care Lopata, Helena 1925-2003 Marriage In Later Life Mayer, Karl Ulrich 1945- Media And Technology Use, Later Life Mental Health, Later Life Moen, Phyllis 1942- Mortality Neighborhood Context, Later Life Neugarten, Bernice 1916-2001 Older Drivers Oldest Old Pain, Acute And Chronic Study Of Pain Over The Last Several Decades: Main Pain Measurement Tools Parent-Child Relationships, Later Life Pensions Policy, Later Life Well-Being Political Behavior And Orientations, Later Life Population Aging Poverty, Later Life Quality Of Life Religion And Spirituality, Later Life Residential Mobility, Later Life Retirement Retirement Communities Riley, Matilda White 1911-2004 Rossi, Alice S. 1922- Ryder, Norman B. 1923-
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Grandparenthood
Author: Maximiliane E. Szinovacz Editor: Deborah Carr Date: 2009 From: Encyclopedia of the Life Course and Human Development(Vol. 3: Later Life. ) Publisher: Macmillan Reference USA Document Type: Topic overview Pages: 5 Content Level: (Level 5)
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Grandparenthood
Grandparenthood constitutes a life-course transition (becoming a grandparent) as well as a life-course stage (being a grandparent). For individuals with multiple grandchildren, one could even speak of “grandparent-hoods” because relationships with each individual grandchild differ by the grandchild's lineage (i.e., whether the grandchild is a child of one's daughter or son), birth order, gender, or geographical distance to the grandparent. The experience of grandparenthood also varies over time, both historically and within grandparents' and grandchildren's life course, and across divergent cultural subgroups. From a different perspective, grandparenthood can also be viewed as a social position and a social role akin to parts (positions) in a drama that are played by different actors (role incumbents).
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GRANDPARENTHOOD AS SOCIAL POSITION Social structures provide a blueprint for what grandparenthood is and how it should be enacted. Societies in North America and Western Europe with their bilateral kinship systems acknowledge grandparents on both the mother's and father's sides, but other societies with patrilinea! or matrilineal systems may assign the position of grandparent only to the father's or mother's parents. In addition, individuals other than blood relatives may be viewed as grandparents. Although grandparenthood through adoption is practiced in many societies, grand-parenthood through remarriage (stepgrandparents) or grandparenthood through artificial fertility methods are mosdy phenomena of modern societies. Because these modern types of grandparenthood lack institutionalization (e.g., there are no separate terms for stepgrandparents acquired through the grandparents' own remarriage or for those acquired through remarriage of the grandparents' children), they can foster ambiguity in individuals' self-perceptions as grandparents (Ikels, 1998).
Social norms prescribe grandparents' rights and obligations. Once again, there is considerable cross-cultural and historical variation. Some traditional societies (e.g., traditional China and to some extent modern rural China), endorsed co residence of young couples with the husband's parents (Ikels, 1998). In contrast, coresidence with grandparents, although on the rise, remains quite rare in the contemporary United States. Generally, the rights and obligations of grandparenthood are ill defined in modern European and North American societies. Laws pertaining specifically to grandparents' rights and duties are also rare. There is some requirement of economic support in cases of teenage parents, and grandparent visitation rights permit grandparent-grandchild contacts even against parents' wishes, although only under select circumstances (Hill, 2001). One of the more widely accepted norms is that of parental independence and noninterference on the part of grandparents in the parental domain. Consequently, grandparents rarely view themselves as disciplinarians of their grandchildren, and they resent having to take on this function under certain circumstances, for example, when grandparents raise their grandchildren (Landry-Meyer & Newman, 2004). However, even in this regard some variation exists. African- American grandparents seem more inclined to become directly involved in parenting functions and to assume authority roles vis-à-vis their grandchildren than their White counterparts (Vandell, McCartney, Owen, Booth, & Clarke-Stewart, 2003).
Despite this vagueness of social norms, grandparents assume important functions in modern societies. Their involvement in child care and in raising grandchildren reduces the need for formal child care and foster care, and their help in times of family crises assists families and grandchildren in coping with disruptive life events such as divorce. Grandparents also play a significant economic role as consumers of products for children, through their financial support to grandchildren and their parents, and through child care for employed mothers.
Unlike in some preindustrial societies where grand-parenthood constituted a basis for social status in the community (Ikels, 1998), social status in the United States and Western Europe is typically linked to individuals' educational and economic achievements. The social significance of grandparenthood is acknowledged through special events such as Grandparents' Day, but one may wonder to what extent these events derive from true esteem for grandparents rather than from marketing initiatives by selected industries (where would greeting card companies be without family events?).
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Like parts in a play, social positions need to be filled by actors. To what extent and by whom the position of grandparent is filled depends on fertility and mortality patterns in two successive generations. Increased longevity and relatively low ages at child birth during the middle of the 20th century contributed to a dramatic rise in the supply of living grandparents to grandchildren. In 2000 more than 40% of
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10-year-old children had four living grandparents compared with only 6% of children ofthat age in 1900. The duration of having living grandparents rose as well. In 1900 only about 20% of children age 30 had living grandparents, compared with a projected 80 percent in 2020 (Hagestad & Uhlenberg, 2007). Further increases in longevity will support this trend into the future. However, delays in childbearing during recent decades will undermine it. Because child-bearing patterns vary considerably by racial and ethnic group, the experience of grandparenthood is likely to become more diversified. Late grandparenthood is likely to prevail among non-Hispanic Whites and Asians and Pacific Islanders, whereas African Americans and especially Hispanics are likely to continue to become grandparents in middle age.
Thus, by the middle of the 21st century more grandchildren, and especially grandchildren from selected racial and ethnic groups, will again experience grandparents' deaths at earlier ages, have older grandparents during their childhood, and be less likely to have living grandparents well into their adulthood. From the grandparents' perspective, however, the supply of grandchildren has declined over the 20th century from an average of more than 12 in 1900 to between 5 and 6 by the late 1900s (Uhlenberg & Kirby, 1998), and this trend is expected to continue in the 21st century. The number of older individuals remaining without grandchildren (due to childlessness in either the grandparent or parent generation) has varied over the last century. Rates of childlessness were relatively high at the beginning of the 20th century and peaked during the Great Depression, then declined during the baby boom era (ca. 1947-1964) and have increased since the late 20th century. Thus, a noteworthy proportion of individuals especially of White and Asian descent will remain without grandchildren (Szinovacz, 2007).
It has been argued that longer duration of grandparenthood and reduced number of grandchildren will further the intensity and quality of grandparent-grandchild relationships (Hagestad & Uhlenberg, 2007). However, this view may be overly optimistic. Other demographic trends, such as the delay in childbearing age, the continued high divorce rate, and declining fertility, can undermine the quality of intergenerational relationships. Adolescent and older grandchildren may be increasingly exposed to frail and demented grandparents. They may also lose contacts with grandparents especially on their father's side after parents' divorce, and as fewer adult children are available to care for their frail parents, grandchildren may become more involved in grandparents' care. These experiences, too, will vary widely across diverse population groups, leading to considerable heterogeneity in the experience of grandparenthood (Szinovacz, 2007).
GRANDPARENTHOOD TRANSITIONS In contrast to most other life-course events, the transition to grandparenthood is a countertransition, that is, a transition contingent on others' behaviors. In rare cases—such as when parents are estranged from their children or when fathers are not even aware that they are fathers—grandparents may even remain ignorant about their transition to grandparenthood. Individuals initiate the transition themselves only when they remarry a partner who already has grandchildren or acquire grandchildren through adoption. Thus, some individuals' aspirations to become grandparents may be thwarted by their children's decisions to delay parenthood or to remain childless, whereas others may enter grandparenthood at a time when they have little desire to become a grandparent. Because most studies have focused on current grandparents rather than on the transition to grandparenthood, very little is known about how this transition transforms grandparents' lives, their marriages, or their relationships with the grandchildren's parents. What little is known suggests that grand-parenthood is usually welcomed by the grandparents and tends to strengthen grandmother-mother bonds (Fischer, 1988). However, grandparenthood that comes too early can lead to strain in grandparents' lives and accelerate self-perceptions as aged (Kaufman & Elder, 2003).
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The grandparent role is dynamic; it changes over time and varies across relationships with specific grandchildren. Although one's status as grandparent is established with the birth or adoption of the first grandchild, additional grand-parenthood transitions occur as children have more children or additional children become parents. Current research provides little insight into the meanings of the first and subsequent grandparent transitions. However, as more grandchildren are born, grandparents need to divide their attention among these grandchildren. Some evidence suggests that frequent visits with the grandchildren from a single child are more common than frequent visits with all grandchildren from multiple sets of children. Conversely, having grandchildren from several children increases the chances of frequent contacts with the grandchildren from at least one child (Uhlenberg & Hammill, 1998). To further understanding of these and other dynamics of the grandparent role, it will be important to explore the interlinkages in the lives of all grandparents and all grandchildren.
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THE GRANDPARENT ROLE Grandparenthood links the lives of three generations—grandparents, parents, and grandchildren. Consequently, the enactment of the grandparent role depends not only on the grandparents themselves but also on the attitudes and behaviors of parents and grandchildren (Szinovacz, 1998). Considerable evidence indicates that parents mediate grandparent-grandchild relationships, at least until grandchildren reach adulthood. Conflicts between parents or divorce in the middle generation as well as strained relationships between a parent and his or her children-in-law can undermine grandparent-grandchild relationships (Fingerman, 2004). Similarly, divorce on the part of the grandparents themselves has been linked to reduced closeness to grandchildren, possibly because it undermines grandparent-parent relationships (King, 2003).
Although parental mediation is important, it is certainly not the only factor impinging on the frequency or quality of grandparent- grandchild relationships. Other important factors that influence these interactions include geographical distance, urban versus rural background, age and number of grandchildren, and family structure and history. Relationships tend to be closer if grandparents live closer to the grandchildren, if the grandchildren are younger, or if grandparents knew their own grandparents (Chan & Elder, 2000). Grandmothers and grandfathers also approach the role somewhat differently. Some studies suggest that grandmothers maintain closer relationships to their grandchildren, but others demonstrate considerable involvement by grandfathers as well (Mann, 2007). Research further shows that both events in grandparents' and in grandchildren's lives exert some influence on grandparent-grandchild relationships. For example, grandchildren's transition to college seems to further closer ties between grandparents and grandchildren from the perspective of both grandparents and grandchildren (Crosnoe & Elder, 2002).
Numerous studies attest to the variety of grandpar-enting activities and styles. These studies reveal different types of grandparenting, depending on which dimensions (e.g., frequency and type of activities with grandchildren, role meaning and salience, instrumental assistance, quality of relationships with grandchildren, or influence) were used to create such typologies. Grandparents can be companions, babysitters, providers of emotional support, story tellers, family historians, socialization agents, disciplinarians, or transmitters of values and culture. The latter activity seems particularly important among Native Americans as it serves to maintain tribal traditions.
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Variation also exists in how much grandparents become involved in their role. For instance, one study (Mueller, Wilhelm, & Elder, 2002) distinguished among five types of grandparents—influential (those ranging high on contact, activities, intimacy, helping, instrumental assistance, and authority), supportive (grandparents who demonstrate a relatively high level of all functions except for particularly low authority), passive (those with relatively low involvement in any functions), authority oriented (those with relatively low involvement in all functions except for high authority), and detached (those with very low involvement across all functions). Close to 40 percent of grandparents exhibited either the influential or supportive patterns, whereas slightly over 25 percent were detached. This suggests that most grandparents attribute high salience to this role and derive gratification from close contacts with their grandchildren. Thus, claims by some authors that grandparents have opted out of the involved grandparent role (Kornhaber, 1996) remain mainly unsubstantiated.
Another indicator that grandparents continue to play an important role especially in family crises (thus the reference to grandparents as family watchdogs) is the increased prevalence of grandparents raising grandchildren. According to the 2000 U.S. Census, more than 2.4 million grandparents had responsibility for raising grandchildren in their households. Assumption of this responsibility prevails among grandmothers and minorities, especially African Americans, Native Americans and Pacific Islanders, Hispanics, and those of other races. And least common among Whites and Asians (Simmons & Dye, 2003). Grandparents raise grandchildren mostly when the parents are either dead or unable or unwilling to carry out parental responsibilities because of various reasons including illness, drug abuse, or incarceration. Debate continues about how raising grandchildren affects grandparents' lives. Research suggests that grandparents who assume this role score lower on mental health measures (e.g., depression) than other grandparents, but other effects such as the impact on grandparents' physical well-being or economic situation remain unclear. Even though grandparents raising grandchildren typically score lower on physical health and higher on poverty than others of their age, this finding largely reflects the greater vulnerability among grandparent populations who become surrogate parents and not effects of the transition to surrogate grandparenthood (Hughes, Waite, LaPierre, & Luo, 2007; Minkler & Fuller-Thomson, 2005).
THE FUTURE OF GRANDPARENT RESEARCH Research has demonstrated that grandparenthood continues to be a significant although not necessarily prestigious role in modern societies and within families. Grandparents are engaged in many activities with their grandchildren and derive satisfaction from their involvement with Page 180 grandchildren. It is known that such involvement varies across cultures and population subgroups as well as over the life cycle. Nevertheless, most studies remain static by focusing on grandparents at a specific point in time. Longitudinal studies (in which data are collected about individual lives at multiple points over time) are needed to explore how the grandparent role changes over time and in response to specific transitions in the lives of both grandparents and grandchildren. For example, how does the enactment of the role change in response to grandparents' retirement, their own illness, or the illness of a grandparent's spouse? How does it change in response to grandchildren's development, their entry into school, or their dating and marriage?
There is also a lack of information about intrafami-lial variations in grandparenthood, that is, how grandparents relate to different grandchildren. Furthermore, little is known about the intricacies of grandparents' relationships with each other. Do close relationships between maternal and paternal grandparents foster relationships with the grandchildren? Will paternal and maternal grandparents compete with each other, especially as the supply of grandchildren declines? More information is needed about differences and similarities in grandfathers' and grandmothers' relationships with their grandchildren. Most important for understanding such differences will be an approach that takes the perspective of the grandparent couple; that is, do married grandparents split grandparenting tasks or
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do they engage joindy in activities with their grandchildren, and how do married grandparents' activities with grandchildren differ from those of single grandparents?
To answer these questions, it will be essential to rely on a life-course perspective that emphasizes heterogeneity in grandparenting across cultures and over the life span and attends to the interlinked lives of grandparents, parents, and grandchildren. From a policy and programmatic perspective, it will be essential to shift from a focus on intergenerational conflict to a stronger emphasis on enabling grandparents to take on heavy responsibilities for grandchild care without detrimental consequences to the grandparents' or the grandchildren's well-being. All evidence points to the fact that grandparents are not abandoning their grandchildren or other family obligation to pursue leisure interests. However, it is often particularly vulnerable groups of grandparents who face overly demanding care responsibilities, and these grandparents need both social and material supports. The retrenchment of social welfare for the elderly is likely to undermine especially vulnerable grandparents' ability to attend to increasing care responsibilities.
SEE ALSO Volume 1: Grandchildren ; Volume 2: Social Roles; Volume 3: Caregiving ; Family and Household Structure, Later Life ; Intergenerational Transfers ; Parent-Child Relationships, Later Life .
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Chan, C. G., & Elder, G. H. (2000). Matrilineal advantage in grandchild—grandparent relations. The Gerontologist, 40, 179-190.
Crosnoe, R., & Elder, G. H. (2002). Life course transitions, the generational stake, and grandparent—grandchild relationships. Journal of Marriage and the Tamily, 64, 1089-1096.
Fingerman, K. L. (2004). The role of offspring and in-laws in grandparents' ties to their grandchildren. Journal of Tamily Issues, 25, 1026- 1049.
Fischer, L. R. (1988). The influence of kin on the transition to parenthood. Marriage and Tamily Review, 12, 201-219.
Hagestad, G. O., & Uhlenberg, P. (2007). The impact of demographic changes on relations between age groups and generations: A comparative perspective. In K. W. Schale, & P. Uhlenberg (Eds.), Social structures. Demographic changes and the well-being of olderpersons(pp. 239-261). New York: Springer.
Hill, T. J. (2001). What's a grandparent to do? The legal status of grandparents in the extended family. Journal of Tamily Issues, 22, 594- 618.
Hughes, M. E., Wake, L. J., LaPierre, T. A., & Luo, Y. (2007). All in the family: The impact of caring for grandchildren on grandparents' health. The Journals of Gerontology: Social Sciences, 62B, S108-S119.
Ikels, C. (1998). Grandparenthood in cross-cultural perspective. In M. E. Szinovacz (Ed.), Handbook on grandparenthood (pp. 40-52). Westport, CT: Greenwood Press.
Kaufman, G., & Elder, G. H. (2003). Grandparenting and age identity. Journal of Aging Studies, 17, 269-282.
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King, V. (2003). The legacy of a grandparent's divorce: Consequences for ties between grandparents and grandchildren. Journal of Marriage and the Tamily, 65, 1044-1069.
Kornhaber, A. (1996). Contemporary grandparenting. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Landry-Meyer, L., & Newman, B. M. (2004). An exploration of the grandparent caregiver role. Journal of Tamily Issues, 25, 1005-1025.
Mann, R. (2007). Out of the shadows? Grandfatherhood, age and masculinities. Journal of Aging Studies, 21, 281-291.
Minkler, M., & Fuller-Thomson, E. (2005). African American grandparents raising grandchildren: A national study using the Census 2000 American Community Survey. The Journals of Gerontology: Social Sciences, 60B, S82—S92.
Mueller, M. M., Wilhelm, B., & Elder, G. H. (2002). Variations in grandparenting. Research on Aging, 24, 360-388.
Simmons, T., & Dye, J. L. (2003). Grandparents living with grandchildren: 2000. Washington, DC: U.S. Bureau of the Census.
Szinovacz, M. E. (1998). Research on grandparenting: Needed refinements in concepts, theories, and methods. In M. E. Szinovacz (Ed.), Handbook on grandparenthood (pp. 257-288). Westport, CT: Greenwood.
Szinovacz, M. E. (2007). The future of intergenerational relationships—variability and vulnerabilities (commentary). In K. W. Schale, & P. Uhlenberg (Eds.), Social structures. Demographic changes and the well-being of older persons (pp. 262-282). New York: Springer.
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Uhlenberg, P., & Hammill, B. (1998). Frequency of grandparent contact with grandchild sets: Six factors that make a difference. The Gerontologist, 38, 276-285.
Uhlenberg, P., & Kirby, J. B. (1998). Grandparenthood over time: Historical and demographic trends. In M. E. Szinovacz (Ed.), Handbook on grandparenthood (pp. 23-39). Westport, CT: Greenwood.
Vandell, D. L., McCartney, K., Owen, M. T., Booth, C., & Clarke-Stewart, A. (2003). Variations in child care by grandparents during the first three years. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 65, 375-381.
Maximiliane E. Szinovacz
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Szinovacz, Maximiliane E. "Grandparenthood." Encyclopedia of the Life Course and Human Development, edited by Deborah Carr, vol. 3: Later Life, Macmillan Reference USA, 2009, pp. 177-181. Gale eBooks, link.gale.com/apps/doc/CX3273000295/GVRL?
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