Grandparents and Their Adolescent Grandchildren: Generational Stake or Generational Complaint? A Study with Dyads in Spain

Abstract

The majority of research on grandparenting has been carried out either from the perspective of the grandparent or from the perspective of the grandchild. The present study compares the perceptions of grandparents and their adolescent grandchildren on four relationship variables: frequency of contact, shared leisure activities, closeness, and grandparenting styles. A sample of 80 couples answered a series of parallel questionnaires. The results suggest that grandparents perceive a greater level of change in the relationships as grandchildren age. The discrepancies between members of the dyad seem not to follow the intergenerational stake hypothesis, which predicts that older generations will have a more optimistic perception of the relationship. Our results also highlight the importance of comparing perspectives as a key approach in order to achieve a deeper understanding of intergenerational relationships inside the family.

Keywords:

• generational comparison
• dyad studies
• adolescence
• grandchildren
• grandparents
• intergenerational stake

Notes

This study has count with the funding of the Spanish Ministry of Science and Technology (project BSO2002–02604).