Grandparents' Expressed Affection for Their Grandchildren: Examining The Grandparents' Own Psychological Health

Abstract

Affection Exchange Theory postulates that affectionate communication may be beneficial to both senders and receivers. To test AET and to extend extant intergenerational communication research, the purpose of this study was to examine the extent to which grandparents' expressions of affection for their grandchildren are associated with the grandparents' own psychological health (i.e., loneliness, stress, and general mental health). A total of 104 grandparents completed several self-report scales. The results of zero-order Pearson correlations largely supported the predictions and therefore also bolster AET's utility in the context of grandparent–grandchild relationships because it is the first study to test the theory from the grandparents' perspective.

Keywords:

• Affection
• Grandchildren
• Grandparents
• Loneliness
• Mental Health
• Stress

Notes

Due to the uneven numbers of grandmothers (n = 84) and grandfathers (n = 20) and because grandmothers' and grandfathers' communicative behaviors have been found to differ (Mansson & Booth-Butterfield, 2011), a multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) was conducted to explore if the grandparents' expressed affection for their grandchildren and psychological well-being (dependent variables) differed based on grandparents' sex (independent variable). The MANOVA was not significant, Wilk's Λ = .94, F(7, 74) = .67, p = .70, η² = .06, power = .27. Thus, all participants, regardless of sex, were examined jointly when testing the hypotheses.

To examine if grandparents' expressed affection for their grandchildren and psychological well-being (dependent variables) differed depending on GP-GC interaction frequency (independent variable), a multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) was conducted. Interaction frequency was coded as 1 (frequent, n = 11; i.e., 1 SD above the M) and 2 (infrequent, n = 17; i.e., 1 SD below the M). The MANOVA was not significant, Wilk's Λ = .82, F(7, 20) = .72, p = .70, η² = .18, power = .20. Thus, all participants, regardless of interaction frequency, were examined jointly when testing the hypotheses.

Loneliness items: (1) I feel that I am “in tune” with the people around me; (2) I feel that I lack companionship; (3) I feel that there is no one I can turn to; (4) I feel alone; (5) I feel a part of a group of friends; (6) I feel that I have a lot in common with the people around me.

To test the idea that scales with different response formats should be standardized, each scale was standardized, and the hypotheses were retested. The results indicated that the association between affection and stress remained identical; affection and loneliness changed slightly (original r range −.19 to −.37 and standardized r range −.20 to −.37); affection and general mental health changed slightly (original r range .33 to .38 and standardized r range .34 to .36). Follow-up Fisher z-tests revealed that these changes were nonsignificant.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Daniel H. Mansson

Daniel H. Mansson (PhD, West Virginia University, 2011) is an assistant professor in the Department of Communication Arts & Sciences at Penn State Hazleton.