Grandparents have recently been the subject of much research; however, there has been little discussion of how they are affected by social institutions outside the extended family. This article focuses on government expectations of family relationships by describing state legislation regarding grandparents. These statutes are spread throughout all areas of law, not only family code. Some evidence exists for the importance of state interests and class issues in legislation. Grandparents are mentioned in statutes and are included in definitions of family more often than grandchildren, implying that children are defined in relation to their parents, whereas grandparents are defined in relation to the children. Grandparents appear to have more legal rights than responsibilities to grandchildren, but both privileges and obligations seem to be limited to situations of disruption in the middle generation.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Aldous, J. (1998). Public policy and grandparents: Contrasting perspectives. In M. E. Szinovacz (Ed.), Handbook on grandparenthood (pp. 230-246). Westport, CT: Greenwood.
2.
Areen, J. (1992). Cases and materials on family law (3rd ed.). Westbury, NY: Foundation.
3.
AskSam for Windows [Computer software]. (1993-1994). Perry, FL: Seaside Software.
4.
Barineau, S.C.C. (1984). Grandparental rights to visitation and custody: A trend in the right direction. Cumberland Law Review, 15, 161-178.
5.
Bengtson, V. L. (1985). Diversity and symbolism in grandparental roles. In V. L. Bengtson & J. F. Robertson (Eds.), Grandparenthood (pp. 11-25). Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
6.
Bohl, J. C. (2000). Grandparent visitation law grows up: The trend toward awarding visitation only when the child would otherwise suffer harm. Drake Law Review, 48, 279-331.
7.
Bostock, C. (1994). Does the expansion of grandparent visitation rights promote the best interests of the child? A survey of grandparent visitation laws in the fifty states. Columbia Journal of Law and Social Problems, 27(3), 319-373.
8.
Bulcroft, K. , Van Leynseele, J., & Borgatta, E. F. (1989). Filial responsibility laws: Issues and state statutes. Research on Aging, 11, 374-393.
9.
Burns, E. M. (1991). Grandparent visitation rights: Is it time for the pendulum to fall?Family Law Quarterly, 25(1), 59-81.
10.
Burton, L. M. , & Bengtson, V. L. (1985). Black grandmothers: Issues of timing and continuity of roles. In V. L. Bengtson & J. F. Robertson, (Eds.), Grandparenthood (pp. 61-77). Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
11.
Cherlin, A. (1978). Remarriage as an incomplete institution. American Journal of Sociology, 84, 634-650.
12.
Cherlin, A. J. , & Furstenberg, F.F., Jr. (1992). The new American grandparent: A place in the family, a life apart. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
13.
Clavan, S. (1978). The impact of social class and social trends on the role of grandparent. The Family Coordinator, 27, 351-357.
14.
Coltrane, S. , & Hickman, N. (1992). The rhetoric of rights and needs: Moral discourse in the reform of child custody and child support laws. Social Problems, 39(4), 400-420.
15.
Daniels, M. B. (1992). The grandparents' rights issue: A sociological analysis. Unpublished manuscript, Wayne State University.
16.
di Leonardo, M. (1987). The female world of cards, and holidays: Women, families, and the work of kinship. Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society, 12(3), 440-452.
17.
Emick, M. A. , & Hayslip, B. (1996). Custodial grandparenting: New roles for middle-aged and older adults. International Journal of Aging and Human Development, 43(2), 135-154.
18.
Estes, C. L. , Linkins, K. W., & Binney, E. A. (1996). The political economy of aging. In R. H. Binstock & L. K. George (Eds.), Handbook of aging and the social sciences (pp. 346-361).
19.
Hagestad, G. O. (1985). Continuity and connectedness. In V. L. Bengtson & J. F. Robertson (Eds.), Grandparenthood (pp. 31-48). Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
20.
Hill, T. J. (2000). Legally extending the family: An event history analysis of grandparent visitation rights laws. Journal of Family Issues, 21(2), 246-261.
21.
Hodgson, L. G. (1992). Adult grandchildren and their grandparents: The enduring bond. International Journal of Aging and Human Development, 34, 209-225.
22.
Hunter, A. G. , & Taylor, R. J. (1998). Grandparenthood in African American families. In M. E. Szinovacz (Ed.), Handbook on grandparenthood (pp. 70-86). Westport, CT: Greenwood.
23.
Jackson, A. M. (1994). The coming of age of grandparent visitation rights. American University Law Review, 43, 563-601.
24.
Jacob, H. (1992). The elusive shadow of the law. Law and Society Review, 26(3), 565-590.
25.
Jendrek, M. P. (1993). Grandparents who parent their grandchildren: Effects on lifestyle. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 55, 609-621.
26.
Johnson, C. L. (1988). Ex familia: Grandparents, parents and children adjust to divorce. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press.
27.
Kamo, Y. (1998). Asian grandparents. In M. E. Szinovacz (Ed.), Handbook on grandparenthood (pp. 97-112). Westport, CT: Greenwood.
28.
Kennedy, G. E. (1990). College students' expectations of grandparent and grandchild role behaviors. The Gerontologist, 30, 43-48.
29.
Kennedy, G. E. (1992). Quality in grandparent/grandchild relationships. International Journal of Aging and Human Development, 35, 83-98.
30.
Kornhaber, A. (1996). Contemporary grandparenting. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Looking for a family resemblance: The limits of the functional approach to the legal definition of family . (1991). Harvard Law Review, 104, 1640-1659.
33.
Mason, M. A. (1994). From father's property to children's rights: The history of child custody in the United States. New York: Columbia University Press.
34.
Mertz, E. (1994). A new social constructionism for sociolegal studies. Law and Society Review, 28(5), 1243-1265.
35.
Minkler, M. , & Roe, K. M. (1993). Grandmothers as caregivers: Raising children of the crack cocaine epidemic. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
36.
Mnookin, R. H. , & Kornhauser, L. (1979). Bargaining in the shadow of the law: The case of divorce. Yale Law Journal, 88, 950-997.
37.
Neugarten, B. , & Weinstein, K. (1964). The changing American grandparent. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 26, 100-204.
38.
People v. Seidel, 115 Ill. App. 3d 471, 70 Ill. Dec. 780, 449 N.E.2d 1384. (3 Dist. 1983)
39.
Robertson, J. F. (1977). Grandmotherhood: A study of role conceptions. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 39, 165-174.
40.
Spitze, G. , & Ward, R. A. (1998). Gender variations. In M. E. Szinovacz (Ed.), Handbook on grandparenthood (pp. 113-127). Westport, CT: Greenwood.
41.
Sprey, J. , & Matthews, S. H. (1982). Contemporary grandparenthood: A systemic transition. Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 464, 91-103.
42.
Stacey, J. , & Thorne, B. (1985). The missing feminist revolution in sociology. Social Problems, 32(4), 301-316.
43.
Strom, R. , & Strom, S. (1997). Building a theory of grandparent development. International Journal of Aging and Human Development, 45(4), 255-286.
44.
Szinovacz, M. E. (1998a). Grandparent research: Past, present, and future. In M. E. Szinovacz (Ed.), Handbook on grandparenthood (pp. 1-20). Westport, CT: Greenwood.
45.
Szinovacz, M. E. (1998b). Grandparents today: A demographic profile. The Gerontologist, 38(1), 37-52.
46.
Troll, L. E. (1983). Grandparents: The family watchdogs. In T. H. Brubaker (Ed.), Family relationships in later life (pp. 63-74). Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
47.
Turner, J. H. (1997). The institutional order: Economy, kinship, religion, polity, law, and education in evolutionary and comparative perspective. New York: Addison-Wesley.
48.
Williams, N. , & Torrez, D. J. (1998). Grandparenthood among Hispanics. In M. E. Szinovacz (Ed.), Handbook on grandparenthood (pp. 87-96). Westport, CT: Greenwood.
49.
Wood, V. , & Robertson, J. F. (1976). The significance of grandparenthood. In J. F. Gubrium (Ed.), Time, roles, and self in old age (pp. 278-304). New York: Human Sciences Press.
50.
Zald, M. N. (1988). The trajectory of social movements in America. Research in Social Movements, Conflicts and Change, 10, 19-41.
