Increasingly, grandchildren and grandparents have opportunities to share family experiences as life expectancy of older adults increases. Along with this extension of life expectancy is the increased chance of grandparents' seeing their grandchildren grow into adulthood. The aim of this study was to examine young adult grandchildren's perceptions of affectual and consensual solidarity with their grandparents. In a convenience sample of 300 college-aged grandchildren, the results of ordinary least squares (OLS) multiple regression analyses show that a grandparent's kin position relative to the grandchild is an important factor in grandchildren's perceptions of solidarity with their grandparents. Results also show that personal factors (demographics) alone were weak predictors. However, structural characteristics were more strongly associated with grandchildren's higher levels of emotional closeness and perceived intergenerational consensus. Future research should examine the association between intergenerational solidarity and family size, parental divorce, and the differences between adult grandchildren acquiring stepgrandparents through parental divorce or grandparent remarriage.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Ashton, V. (1996). A study of mutual support between Black and White grandmothers and their adult grandchildren. Journal of Gerontological Social Work, 26(1-2), 87-100.
2.
Bengtson, V. L. , & Harootyan, R. A. (Eds.). (1994). Intergenerational linkages: Hidden connections in American society. New York: Springer.
3.
Bengtson, V. L. , & Kuypers, J. A. (1971). Generational difference and the “developmental stake.”Aging & Human Development, 2, 249-260.
4.
Brussoni, M. J. , & Boon, S. D. (1998). Grandparental impact on young adults' relationships with their closest grandparents: The role of relationship strength and emotional closeness. International Journal of Aging & Human Development, 46(4), 267-286.
5.
Burton, L. (1990). Teenage childbearing as an alternative life course strategy in multi-generational Black families. Human Nature, 1, 123-143.
6.
Caldwell, C. H. , Antonucci, T. C., & Jackson, J. S. (1998). Supportive/conflictual family relations and depressive symptomatology: Teenage mothers and grandmother perspectives. Family Relations, 47(4), 395-402.
7.
Chan, C. G. , & Elder, G. H. (2000). Matrilineal advantage in grandchild-grandparent relations. The Gerontologist, 40(2), 179-190.
8.
Cherlin, A. J. , & Furstenberg, F. F. (1986). The new American grandparent: A place in the family, a life apart. New York: Basic Books.
9.
Clingempeel, W. G. , Colyer, J. J., Brand, E., & Hetherington, E. M. (1992). Children's relationships with maternal grandparents: A longitudinal study of family structure and pubertal status. Child Development, 63(6), 1404-1422.
10.
Coleman, M. , Ganong, L. H., & Cable, S. M. (1997). Beliefs about women's intergenerational family obligations to provide support before and after divorce and remarriage. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 59, 165-176.
11.
Cooney, T. M. , & Smith, L. A. (1996). Young adults' relations with grandparents following recent parental divorce. Journals of Gerontology, Series B, 51(2), S91-S95.
12.
Dellmann-Jenkins, M. , Blankemeyer, M., & Pinkard, O. (2000). Young adult grandchildren in primary caregiver roles to older relatives and their service needs. Family Relations: Interdisciplinary Journal of Applied Family Studies, 49(2), 177-186.
13.
Erickson, E. (1950). Childhood and society. New York: Norton.
14.
Freud, S. (1933). New introductory lectures in psychoanalysis. New York: Norton.
15.
Glass, J. , Bengtson, V. L., & Dunham, C. C. (1986). Attitude similarity in three-generation families: Socialization, status inheritance, or reciprocal influence. American Sociological Review, 51, 685-698.
16.
Hagestad, G. O. (1985). Continuity and connectedness. In V. L. Bengtson & J. F. Robertson (Eds.), Grandparenthood (pp. 31-48). Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
17.
Heilbrun, A. B., Jr. (1965). An empirical test of the modeling theory of sex-role learning. Child Development, 36, 789-799.
18.
Hodgson, L. G. (1992). Adult grandchildren and their grandparents: The enduring bond. International Journal of Aging & Human Development, 34(3), 209-225.
19.
Hoffman, E. (1979). Young adults' relations with their grandparents: An exploratory study. International Journal of Aging & Human Development, 10(3), 299-309.
20.
Hooyman, N. , & Kiyak, H. A. (1988). Social gerontology: A multidisciplinary perspective. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
21.
Kennedy, G. E. (1991). Grandchildren's reasons for closeness with grandparents. Journal of Social Behavior and Personality, 6(4), 697-712.
22.
Kennedy, G. E. (1992). Shared activities of grandparents and grandchildren. Psychological Reports, 70(1), 211-227.
23.
Kennedy, G. E. , & Kennedy, C. E. (1993). Grandparents: A special resource for children in stepfamilies. Journal of Divorce and Remarriage, 19(3-4), 45-68.
24.
Kivnick, H. Q. (1982). Grandparenthood: An overview of meaning and mental health. The Gerontologist, 22, 59-66.
25.
Langer, N. (1990). Grandparents and adult grandchildren: What do they do for one another?International Journal of Aging & Human Development, 31(2), 101-110.
26.
Mangen, D. J. , Bengtson, V. L., & Landry, P. H., Jr. (1988). The measurement of intergenerational relations. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
27.
Markiedes, K. S. (1991). Survey of three generations of Mexican Americans. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research.
28.
Mills, T. L. (1996). Grandparents and their adult grandchildren: An analysis of the effects of role transition on intergenerational solidarity. Dissertation Abstracts International, 58(1), Section A, p. 0308(231).
29.
Mills, T. L. (1999). When grandchildren grow up: Role transition and family solidarity among baby boomer grandchildren and their grandparents. Journal of Aging Studies, 13(2), 219-239.
30.
Minkler, M. , & Roe, K. M. (1993). Grandmothers as caregivers: Raising children of the crack cocaine epidemic. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
31.
Minkler, M. , Roe, K. M., & Price, M. (1992). The physical and emotional health of grandmothers raising grandchildren in the crack cocaine epidemic. The Gerontologist, 32, 752-760.
32.
Neugarten, B. L. , Moore, J., & Lowe, L. (1965). Age norms, age constraints, and adult socialization. American Journal of Sociology, 70, 710-716.
33.
Neugarten, B. L. , & Weinstein, K. (1964). The changing American grandparents. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 26, 199-204.
34.
Pruchno, R. A. , & Johnson, K. W. (1996). Research on grandparenting: Review of current studies and future needs. Generations, 20, 65-70.
35.
Quadagno, J. (1999). Aging and the life course. New York: McGraw-Hill.
36.
Roberto, K. A. , & Skoglund, R. R. (1996). Interactions with grandparents and great-grandparents: A comparison of activities, influences, and relationships. International Journal of Aging & Human Development, 43(2), 107-117.
37.
Roberto, K. A. , & Stroes, J. (1992). Grandchildren and grandparents: Roles, influences, and relationships. International Journal of Aging & Human Development, 34(3), 227-239.
38.
Robertson, J. F. (1977). Significance of grandparents: Perceptions of young grandchildren. The Gerontologist, 16, 137-140.
39.
Schwartz, J. , & Waldrop, J. (1992). The growing importance of grandparents if you're marketing products and services for children and young adults. American Demographics, 14, 10-11.
40.
Settersten, R. A., Jr. , & Hagestad, G. O. (1996a). What's the latest? Cultural age deadlines for family transitions. The Gerontologist, 36, 178-188.
41.
Settersten, R. A., Jr. , & Hagestad, G. O. (1996b). What's the latest? II. Cultural age deadlines for educational and work transitions. The Gerontologist, 36, 602-613.
42.
Silverstein, M. , & Chen, X. (1999). Of general interest: The impact of acculturation in Mexican American families on the quality of adult grandchild-grandparent relationships. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 61(1), 188-198.
43.
Silverstein, M. , & Long, J. D. (1998). Trajectories of grandparents' perceived solidarity with adult grandchildren: A growth curve analysis of 23 years. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 60(4), 912-923.
44.
Szinovacz, M. (Ed.). (1998). Handbook on grandparenthood. Westport, CT: Greenwood.
45.
Taylor, A. C. (1998). Perceptions of intergenerational bonds: The comparison between grandfathers and their adult grandchildren [Online]. Available: http://scholar/lib.vt.edu
46.
Troll, L. E. (1983). Grandparents: The family watchdogs. In T. H. Brubaker (Ed.), Family relationships in later life (pp. 63-76). Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
