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Grandparenthood and the Mental Health of Grandparents†

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 November 2008

Helen Q. Kivnick
Helen Q. Kivnick
Affiliation:
Institute for Scientific Analysis, 2410 Lombard Street, San Francisco, CA94123.
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Abstract

Although general family involvement is heralded as critically important for the elderly, the importance of the specific family involvement of grand-parenthood remains surprisingly little understood. The present study integrates qualitative and quantitative methodologies: 11 grandparents completed a series of five open-ended interviews, 19 grandparents participated in single open-ended interviews, and 286 grandparents completed lengthy quantitative questionnaires. In contrast to previous studies reporting that there is little relationship between grandparenthood experience and life satisfaction, current findings indicate that grandparenthood serves a compensatory function with respect to life satisfaction and morale, particularly for those individuals who are most deprived and who have fewest sources of satisfaction. Ageing persons seem to use grandparenthood to enhance their mental health; in grandparenting they capitalize on their existing strengths and re-work existing weaknesses.

Type
Research Article
Information
Ageing & Society , Volume 1 , Issue 3 , November 1981 , pp. 365 - 391
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1981

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