Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-rdxmf Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-26T07:16:25.387Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Is contemporary grandparental care an evolutionary mismatch?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 April 2010

Harald A. Euler
Harald A. Euler
Affiliation:
Institute of Psychology, Department of Economics, University of Kassel, 34127 Kassel, Germany. [email protected]://www.psychologie.uni-kassel.de/indexpers.htm
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

In order to evaluate the impact of contemporary grandparenting, the view should not be restricted to developmental achievement effects in grandchildren. Both child happiness and grandparent happiness are high-ranking goals with implications for public policy. The beneficial impact of grandparenting for risk families appears unequivocal, and modern life still encounters all kinds of unpredictable risks. Contemporary grandparental care is no evolutionary mismatch.

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 33 , Issue 1 , February 2010 , pp. 21 - 22
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2010

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Alexander, R. D. (1987) The biology of moral systems. Aldine de Gruyter.Google Scholar
Case, A., Lin, I.-F. & McLanahan, S. (2001) Educational attainment of siblings in stepfamilies. Evolution and Human Behavior 22:269–89.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Case, A. & Paxson, C. (2001) Mothers and others: Who invests in children's health? Journal of Health Economics 20:301–28.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Duflo, E. C. (2003) Grandmothers and granddaughters: Old age pensions and intrahousehold allocation in South Africa. The World Bank Economic Review 17:1–25.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Herring, D. J. (2008) Kinship foster care: Implications of behavioral biology research. Buffalo Law Review 56:495–556.Google Scholar
Patrick, J. H. & Goedereis, E. A. (2009) The importance of context and the gain-loss dynamic for understanding grandparent caregiving. In: How caregiving affects development, ed. Shifren, L., pp. 169–90. American Psychological Association.Google Scholar
Scannapiego, M. & Hegar, R. L. (2002) Kinship care providers: Designing an array of supportive services. Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal 19:315–27.CrossRefGoogle Scholar