An attachment perspective on grandparents raising their very young grandchildren: Implications for intervention and research

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to apply an attachment perspective to the growing number of families with grandparents raising grandchildren to increase our understanding of the complexity of intergenerational relationship processes in these families and to guide early intervention and research. It is proposed that, as grandparents take responsibility for their grandchildren, three relationship processes simultaneously occur: (1) disruptions in attachments potentially occur, especially in relationships involving parents, (2) attachment relationships between grandchildren and grandparents develop or are revised, and (3) family members' internal working models of attachment and caregiving are challenged and shaped. To address these processes, attachment theory and research focusing on the formation, disruption, and intergenerational transmission of attachment relationships are reviewed. Conclusions suggest that when grandparents assume responsibility for grandchildren, families may need and be particularly open to a range of interventions. In addition, research focusing on attachment relationships in families of grandparents raising grandchildren is needed.RESUMEN: El propósito de este estudio es aplicar la perspectiva de la afectividad al creciente número de familias en las que los abuelos crían a los nietos, para incrementar nuestra comprensión de la complejidad de los procesos de relaciones intergeneracionales en estas familias, y para guiar la temprana intervención e investigación. Se propone que, a medida que los abuelos asumen las responsabilidades de criar a sus nietos, ocurren tres procesos de relaciones simultáneamente: (1) los trastornos en la afectividad posiblemente ocurren, especialmente en aquellas relaciones que involucran a los padres, (2) las relaciones entre abuelos y nietos de desarrollan o se reconsideran, y (3) los modelos internos de afectividad y de prestar cuidado que poseen los miembros de la familia se enfrentan a un reto y adquieren forma. Con el propósito de tratar estos procesos, se revisan tanto la teoría como la investigación sobre la afectividad que se enfoca en la formación, trastorno y transmisión intergeneracional de la afectividad. Las conclusiones sugieren que cuando los abuelos asumen responsabilidad por la crianza de los nietos, las familias pudieran necesitar y estar específicamente dispuestas a una gama de intervenciones. Adicionalmente, se hace necesaria una Special thanks to Inge Bretherton, Mary Brintnall-Peterson, and Kari Morgan for productive conversations regarding links between attachment theory and families with grandparents raising grandchildren, and to two anonymous reviewers for their insightful comments on earlier versions of this manuscript. RÉ SUMÉ : Le but de cet article est d'appliquer une perspective d'attachement au nombre croissant de grands-parents qui élèvent leurs petits-enfants, de manière à étendre notre compréhension de la complexité des processus de relation intergénérationnelles dans ces familles et de manière à guider l'intervention préc...

The Effect of Grandparents’ Co-parenting on Young Children’s Personality and Adaptation: Chinese Three-generation-families

“…Given that this is a becoming a prevalent social phenomenon, more research regarding the influence of grandparents' parenting/co-parenting in normal three-generational families is necessary. though these are crucial areas for determining appropriate interventions to facilitate children's development and well-being (Poehlmann, 2003;Zhao, Deng, Zheng, & Zhou, 2004). Grandparents may be the best substitute caregiver when parents are unavailable to provide care for their children, but the advantages and disadvantages in grandparenting for children's development should also be clarified to determine how to improve the quality of care and benefit the children's development.…”

“…From an attachment perspective, Poehlmann (2003) proposed that three relationship processes simultaneously occur when grandparents take responsibility for their grandchildren: (1) disruptions in attachments potentially occur, especially in relationships involving parents; (2) attachment relationships between grandchildren and grandparents develop or are revised; and (3) family members' internal working models of attachment and caregiving are challenged and shaped. However, little research has provided empirical evidence for Poehlmann's theory.…”

Adversities Experienced by Grandchildren in Korean Grandparent-Grandchildren Families and their Family Resilience

“…It is therefore necessary for teachers, community networks or Grandparents can be a positive alternative when biological parents cannot nurture their children since they provide love and a stable environment when parents are sick or as a better alternative to adoptive families (Poehlmann, 2003;Hayslip & Kaminski, 2005). This is found in family resilience, and in particular, the family belief system recognizes the family value as a family unit unlike other sub-factors.…”

Value of Family and Group Counseling Models Where Grandparents Function as Parents to their Grandchildren

“…Their ability to establish secure relationships with grandparents, family members and others can be adversely impacted by parental desertion (van der Horst et al 2008). Overall, parental abandonment may diminish a child's core sense of self-worth and is associated with long-term negative behavioral outcomes (Poehlmann 2003).…”