The meaning of grandparenthood and its relationship to demographic, relationship, and social participation variables
Article Abstract:
Although research on grandparenthood has been popular for several years, its significance has been largely neglected. Over 25 years ago, five styles of grandparental roles were identified: formal, fun-seeker, parental replacement, reservoir of family wisdom, and distant figure; a decade later the characteristics of these groups were more clearly defined. However, in order to remedy the lack of a conceptual framework, another researcher identified the meaning of grandparenthood: centrality, valued elder, immortality through clan, reinvolvement with the past, and indulgence. All of these are supposed to be present to one degree or another for all grandparents, but are modified by other aspects of life, such as health, overall satisfaction, and involvement with friends. These dimensions may also be related to how interested the grandparents are in being with members of other generations, their ages when they became grandparents and how experienced they are at it, and how close they feel to family members of other generations. The actual significance of grandparenthood may be the insight it provides into the strength of general family closeness. This study of 161 grandparents attempted to determine whether the five dimensions of the meaning of grandparenthood were related to variables identified by other researchers, including demographic features (such as age, sex, number of grandchildren), perception of health, life satisfaction, involvement with friends, interest in intergenerational socializing, and the social and personal aspects of grandparenting. The results revealed that people find a combination of satisfactions in grandparenthood, and that the amount of satisfaction depends primarily on how important being a grandparent is to them and how often they are in contact with the grandchildren. Grandparenthood may be less important to those who are still working, or who have a large group of friends. The meaning of grandparenthood may fundamentally depend on the closeness of the family. The number of grandchildren was also seen to be an important determinant. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)
Publication Name: Journals of Gerontology
Subject: Seniors
ISSN: 0022-1422
Year: 1990
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Cultural differences among elderly women in coping with the death of an adult child
Article Abstract:
The death of an adult child is frequently very difficult for parents to accept. In addition to the obvious emotional loss, the child's death may cause hardship because there is no one left to care for the parent, increasing the sense of loss and insecurity. This comes at a time in life when the elderly person also faces the loss of friends. Twenty-nine elderly women who had lost an adult child were interviewed about their experiences in coping with the death. Twelve of the women were Jewish, six were Catholic and 11 were Protestant. Catholic and Protestant mothers differed little in their reactions; however, three differences were found between the Jewish mothers and the Christian mothers. These differences related to the meaning of death, the expression of grief, and the ability of the women to recast their lives after their loss. The roles of culture and ethnicity in shaping psychological and behavioral aspects of life are discussed. The Jewish women derived their identity from their children, and grief reaffirmed the bond between them and the dead child. They tended to become stuck in their loss, and to drift away from previous commitments. Non-Jewish mothers were more independent of their children, and they recalled more positive images of the lost child, and pursued new relationships or strengthened old ones. Jewish mothers scored lower on affect, well-being and personality scales measuring mastery. The acceptance expressed by Christian women and the generalization of the loss to the whole of their lives by the Jewish women may have resulted from differences in how the two groups express their feelings, and not as a consequence of their life views and religion. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)
Publication Name: Journals of Gerontology
Subject: Seniors
ISSN: 0022-1422
Year: 1991
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The effects of early family relationships on contemporary relationships and assistance patterns between adult children and their parents
Article Abstract:
The increase in the number of people living to old age means that intergenerational relationships are likely to last longer than before. Therefore, families lack historical models on which to base mutual expectations and responsibilities, other than a general cultural expectation of filial obligation. Various theories about the effect of early family interactions on later family relationships are described. A sample of white, two-parent families was drawn from an agricultural community in Iowa in order to study the relationships between the older generation and their adult children. Measures of parental rejection, harsh discipline and parental monitoring were used to evaluate the parent-child relationship, in addition to more general measures of interaction, and the health and age of the parent. A good parent-child relationship was expected to lead to higher levels of assistance between parents and their children. Better health of the parent was hypothesized to require less assistance from the child to the parent. Finally, it was felt that, the older the parent, the better the relationship would be, and the greater the assistance rendered from child to parent. It was found that children whose parents were perceived as rejecting were less likely to have close relationships with their parents, as did children whose parents were depressed or hostile. It is concluded that early family relationships have lifelong consequences. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)
Publication Name: Journals of Gerontology
Subject: Seniors
ISSN: 0022-1422
Year: 1991
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