What is emotional closeness between grandparents and their adolescent grandchildren? A systematic review

ABSTRACT

Studies on grandchildren and their grandparents have shown the importance of the bond between them for their well-being, the good development of the grandchildren and the grandparents’ successful aging. This mutually satisfying intergenerational bond is based on emotional closeness, reciprocal influence and willingness to maintain the relationship throughout life. Our aim was to conduct a systematic review of the current literature to explore the bond between grandparents and their adolescent grandchildren and its role in their respective lives. Following PRISMA guidelines, we searched four databases for studies published between 2009 and 2019, and selected additional articles from retrieved publications. We identified 18 articles that met the inclusion criteria. We explored the concept of emotional closeness and its measures, identified the variables moderating this bond, and examined outcomes for grandparents and grandchildren. We identified the measures of emotional closeness in the studies and the factors influencing this intergenerational bond; these included personal, environmental and relationship factors (distance, grandparents’ health, personality, relationships with parents, communication), as well as psychological outcomes. This review reveals new approaches to the concept of emotional closeness in the grandparent-grandchild relationship through various psychological constructs and variables that should be included in future scales measuring emotional closeness.

KEYWORDS:

• Emotional closeness
• grandparenting
• grandparents
• grandchildren
• intergenerational relationships

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the EA-2114 Psychologie des Ages de la Vie Et Adaptation (University of Tours).