Effect of Grandmother-Mother Relationship on Grandmother-Grandchildren Ties: Focusing on the Mediating Effect of Coparenting

Abstract

This study showed that the association between grandmother-mother relationship and grandmother-grandchildren ties is mediated by the coparenting. Participants consisted of 329 grandmothers who were rearing preschool aged grandchildren in the Seoul and Gyeonggido area. SPSS 23.0 performed descriptive statistical analysis and correlation analysis. The structural equation model was estimated with AMOS 23.0. Parameters were estimated using the maximum likelihood method. Model fit index used the chi-square statistic, the goodness of fit index (GFI), the Turker-Lewis index (TLI), the comparative fit index (CFI), the root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA). The mediation effect analysis followed a two-step verification process; direct and indirect effect. In addition, statistical significance of the indirect effect was examined using a bootstrapping procedure. The results are as follows. First, a positive correlation was found between the grandmother-mother relationship, grandmother-grandchildren ties, and coparenting. Second, the association between grandmother-mother relationship and grandmother-grandchildren ties is mediated by coparenting. The results of this study suggest that the quality of the grandmother’s relationship with mothers and cooperative coparenting is important to building relationships with grandchildren. In addition, coparenting can be an important mechanism for grandmother-mother relationships and grandmother-grandchild ties. Based on the results of this study, we discussed ways to improve the grandmothers’ relationship quality with the mother and strengthen parenting ability.