Grandparenting and adolescent well-being: evidence from the UK and Israel

ABSTRACT

This article reviews the major findings of two large-scale studies on adolescent–grandparent relationship conducted in the UK and in Israel. The Israeli study followed the UK study, deepening the investigation of some of the major themes uncovered in the British study. Both studies reveal that grandmothers and grandfathers are highly involved in adolescents’ lives and that this involvement is associated with increased adolescent well-being. The studies focus on the role of grandparents in times of parental divorce and other stressful events, as well as the weaker status of the paternal grandparents in post-divorce families and the correlates of the adolescent’s relationship with the paternal grandmother. Both studies highlight the role of intergenerational relationships, including parent–grandparent and parent–adolescent bonds, in the adolescent–grandparent relationship, in line with the intergenerational solidarity model. The Israeli study deepens our understanding of the possible contributions of cultural affiliation to the child–grandparent relationship by comparing Arab and Jewish adolescents’ self-reports of their relationships with their grandparents. These studies bring to light the possible positive role of grandparent involvement. Family psychology should pay greater attention to this role and its contribution, especially in times of transition and distress in adolescents’ lives.

KEYWORDS:

• Grandparenting
• intergenerational relationships
• adolescents
• parental divorce
• well-being
• culture

Notes on contributors

Prof. Shalhevet Attar-Schwartz is an Associate Professor at the School of Social Work and Social Welfare at the Hebrew University. Her research focuses on the well-being of children and youth. She is particularly interested in intergenerational relationships in the family and their contribution to young people’s well-being. Her research work examines the familial and social conditions under which informal involvement of grandparents is more beneficial for their grandchildren. She has examined these issues in a variety of cultural contexts, among young people from the general population as well as among young people in public care.

Prof. Ann Buchanan is Emeritus Professor and Associate Research Fellow at the Department of Social Policy and Intervention, University of Oxford. For many years, she directed the Centre for Research into Parenting and Children. For over 20 years, her research focus has been on family relationships and child well-being. From 2007 to 2013, she was on the Council of the ESRC. She is a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences and served on their Council from 2011 to 2017. In 2012, she received an MBE ‘for services to social science’. In 2016, she edited with Anna Rotkirch ‘Grandfathers: Global perspectives’, which was published by Palgrave Macmillan.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Economic and Social Research Council [grant number 00-22-2283] and The Israel Science Foundation [grant number 343/10].