Paternal grandmothers benefit the most from expressing affection to grandchildren: An extension of evolutionary and sociological research

Abstract

This study explored how type of grandparent is related to grandparents’ affectionate communication and grandchildren’s relational closeness to grandparents. We predicted that grandchildren would be closest to and receive the most affection from maternal grandmothers, followed by maternal grandfathers, paternal grandmothers, and paternal grandfathers. We also hypothesized that type of grandparent would moderate the associations between affection and closeness. Using a convenience sample of grandchildren (n = 281), we found that grandchildren were closer to maternal grandparents rather than paternal grandparents. Grandchildren reported receiving more memories and humor from their paternal grandfathers rather than their maternal grandmothers. Type of grandparent moderated the associations between the love and esteem received from grandparents and closeness as well as the associations between the physical tokens of affection received from grandparents and closeness such that associations were amplified for paternal grandmothers. Findings are discussed in terms of their contributions to evolutionary and sociological research.

Keywords

Affectionate communication family lineage grandparent–grandchild communication proximate explanations relational closeness ultimate explanations

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