Support across two generations: children's closeness to grandparents following parental divorce and remarriage.
There has been relatively little research on the role of grandparents as a source of support for children during and following their parents' marital transitions. In this study, we examined children's contact with and closeness to grandparents in different family types (i.e., two biological parents, single mother, stepparent). Participants included 155 children from the Avon Brothers and Sisters Study. Parent and child interviews and questionnaires regarding the children's relationships with maternal and paternal biological and stepgrandparents were examined. There were family type differences in rates of contact with grandparents as well as children's closeness to grandparents. Furthermore, children's and parents' view about these relationships with grandparents were modestly correlated, suggesting that children often held different views about their closeness to their grandparents than did their parents. Greater closeness to grandparents was associated with fewer adjustment problems.
Lussier
Gretchen
G
Department of Psychology, 1227 University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon 97403-1227, USA. glussier@darkwing.uoregon.edu
Deater-Deckard
Kirby
K
Dunn
Judy
J
Davies
Lisa
L
D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004243:Divorce; D005190:Family / Q000523:psychology*; D005195:Family Relations; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016901:Intergenerational Relations; D008297:Male; D008393:Marriage; D012944:Social Support; D013997:Time Factors