Whether grandparenting is associated with improved health or well-being among older adults is a salient question in present-day aging societies. This systematic review compiles studies that consider the health or well-being outcomes of grandparenting, concerning (1) custodial grandparent families, where grandparents are raising grandchildren without parental presence; (2) three-generation households, where grandparents are living with adult children and grandchildren; and (3) non-coresiding grandparents, who are involved in the lives of their grandchildren. Review was based on literature searches conducted in September 2019 via Web of Science, PubMed, PsycINFO, and Ebsco. We screened 3868 abstracts across four databases, and by following the PRISMA guidelines, we identified 92 relevant articles (117 studies) that were published between 1978 and 2019. In 68% of cases, custodial grandparenting was associated with decreased health or well-being of grandparents. The few studies considering the health or well-being of grandparents living in three-generation households provided mixed findings (39% positive; 39% negative). Finally, in 69% of cases, involvement of non-coresiding grandparents was associated with improved grandparental outcomes; however, there was only limited support for the prediction that involved grandparenting being causally associated with grandparental health or well-being. Despite this, after different robustness checks (counting all nonsignificant results, taking into account the representativeness of the data and causal methodology), the main finding remains the same: the most negative results are found among custodial grandparents and three-generation households and most positive results among non-coresiding grandparents.

This structured literature review attempts to provide a comprehensive overview of literature on the topic of childlessness and social support in old age. In total, 33 articles that were published between January 2000 and July 2018 were reviewed. Articles to some extent covered topics of nonparents and their social support, social contacts, their social networks, and what are other socio-demographic factors that are possibly influencing these. There was no overall consensus on reviewed topics, but some findings emerged more frequently than others. Nonparents have smaller, but more diverse social networks, they seem to have less frequent social contacts with family, but they see friends and neighbours more often. Most articles depict childless as a vulnerable group with higher rates of loneliness. Childless elderly generally do not lack social support in forms of household help, yet their social networks appear to be less capable of providing intense care tasks. Among factors that also affect all above belong the cultural context, marital status, gender of the given individual, their age, and health status. Interestingly, within group of parents the family size, gender of children, and their proximity also play an important role in social support provision. This review also advices on a further study and development of the topic in the future.

Background and Objectives: Whether grandparenting is associated with improved health and well-being among older adults is a salient question in present-day aging societies. This systematic review compiles studies that consider the health and well-being outcomes of grandparenting, concerning (i) custodial grandparent families, where grandparents are raising children without parental presence; (ii) three-generation households, where grandparents are living with adult children and grandchildren; and (iii) non-coresiding grandparents, who are involved in the lives of their grandchildren.Research Design and Methods: This systematic review was based on literature searches conducted in September 2019 via Web of Science, PubMed, PsycINFO, and Ebsco. We screened 3,868 abstracts across four databases, and by following the PRISMA guidelines, we identified ninety-two relevant articles (117 studies) that were published between 1978 and 2019.Results: In 68% of cases custodial grandparenting was associated with decreased health and wellbeing of grandparents. The few studies considering the health and well-being of grandparents living in three-generation households provided mixed findings (39% positive; 39% negative). Finally, in 69% of cases involvement of non-coresiding grandparents was associated with improved grandparental outcomes; however, there was only limited support for the prediction that involved grandparenting being causally associated with grandparental health and well-being.Discussion and Implications: The findings are discussed separately among these three groups of grandparents, including reference to possible causal relations between involved grandparenting and grandparental health and well-being. The article concludes by considering the scope for future studies.