Turning Points in Parent-Grandparent Relationships During the Start of a New Generation

Abstract

The transition to parenthood is a pivotal life event. Becoming parents affects many family relationships, although the bulk of research has emphasized marriage and parents' relationships to their newborn. The current study is a qualitative analysis of new parents' relationships with their parents, the new grandparents. Twenty-three first-time parents completed semistructured interviews during which each identified changes in their relationship with either a parent or parent-in-law. New parents described the transitional period beginning from the date they announced the pregnancy to the future grandparents. Through the Retrospective Interview Technique (Huston, Surra, Fitzgerald, & Cate, 1981), participants described 225 events that changed intergenerational relationships. Interviews were transcribed and analyzed inductively, resulting in 10 turning points. Guided by dialogic theory, the analysis included the valence (positive, negative, and both) and locus (internal and external to the dyad) of each turning point. Connection, Gifts, and some communicative turning points were found to be positive for intergenerational relationships, whereas Conflict and Face-Threatening Advice generally lowered satisfaction. Birth and several other turning points were multivocal, with both negative and positive evaluations by new parents.

An earlier version of this paper was presented at the 2008 National Communication Association conference in San Diego, CA. The author thanks Laura Sangster for her research assistance, especially with data analysis. The author also thanks Erin Sahlstein, Kristen Schultz Lee, Claire Bouchal, and Greg Epp for comments on earlier drafts. This research was supported, in part, by a Brock University Advancement Fund grant.

Notes

¹Instead of the wordy “new and expectant parents,” I use the label NPs. The communicative processes associated with the transition to parenthood begin prior to labor as family members start to think of themselves as parents and GPs.

²Two additional NPs participated, but due to a faulty tape recorder their interviews were lost.

³Although it is technically the fetus' heartbeat, participants did not use that term. Regardless of whether NPs were discussing their child before or after its birth, they used its name, “baby,” “my son,” and such.