Grandparenthood and Subjective Well-Being: Moderating Effects of Educational Level

Mahne, Katharina; Huxhold, Oliver

doi:10.1093/geronb/gbu147

Cited by 85 publications

(68 citation statements)

References 63 publications

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“…Their results suggest a positive relationship between caring for one's grandchildren and a variety of physical and psychological health outcomes (Arpino and Bordone 2014;Di Gessa et al 2016a, b;Hughes et al 2007;Mahne and Huxhold 2015). Moreover, focusing on the role of the relationship to grandparents in the well-being of adolescent and young adult grandchildren, Ruiz and Silverstein (2007) showed that grandchildren benefit from a close relationship to their grandparents as well, especially if they are living in a non-traditional family context.…”

Section: Intergenerational Family Relations and Healthmentioning

confidence: 96%

Families and Health: A Review

Hank

Steinbach

2018

A Demographic Perspective on Gender, Family and Health in Europe

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Section: Intergenerational Family Relations and Healthmentioning

confidence: 96%

Families and Health: A Review

Hank

Steinbach

2018

A Demographic Perspective on Gender, Family and Health in Europe

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“…The non-intensive provision of childcare has been shown to be positively associated with grandparents' cognitive functioning (Arpino and Bordone, 2014), subjective wellbeing (Mahne and Huxhold, 2015), and lower risk of depression (Grundy et al, 2012). Can older adults without children or grandchildren gain similar benefits from, for instance, supporting members of their social network?…”

Section: Benefits For the Older Helper: Findings From The Behavioral mentioning

confidence: 99%

A prospective study of associations among helping, health, and longevity

Hilbrand

Coall

Meyer

et al. 2017

Social Science & Medicine

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How does helping behavior contribute to the health and the longevity of older helpers? From an evolutionary perspective, the ultimate cause may be rooted in ancestral parenting and grandparenting. These activities may have generalized to a neural and hormonal caregiving system that also enabled prosocial behavior beyond the family. From a psychological perspective, helping others may be associated with healthy aging, which, in turn, contributes to longevity as a proximate cause. Yet little is known about the extent to which mediating factors such as the health benefits of helping behaviors translate into enhanced longevity, particularly in regard to grandparenting. To fill this gap, we conducted mediation analyses (structural equation models) to examine whether grandparenting and supporting others in the social network contributed directly or indirectly (through better health 5-6 years later) to the longevity of older helpers. We drew on longitudinal data from the Berlin Aging Study (N = 516), in which older adults in Berlin, Germany, were interviewed at baseline (1990-1993, mean age at entry = 85 years) and continuously followed up until 2009. Results suggest that the associations of both grandparenting and supporting others with enhanced longevity are mediated by better prospective health (indirect effect). The effect of helping was not fully mediated, however-helping was also directly associated with increased longevity independently of the health indicators measured. The results were robust against effects of the helper's preexisting health status and sociodemographic characteristics of participants, their children, and grandchildren. We conclude that better prospective health contributes to the link between helping and longevity, but does not fully account for it. Other potential contributing mechanisms remain to be identified. As populations age across the globe, identifying mechanisms that foster health in old age can help to highlight potential targets for public health interventions.

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“…On the other hand, becoming a grandparent is experienced as a highly positive life transition by individuals (Mahne and Motel-Klingebiel 2012). That is, spending time with grandchildren provides emotional gratification and a sense of belonging and usefulness, with positive effects on health and life satisfaction (Arpino and Bordone 2014; Mahne and Huxhold 2015;Di Gessa et al 2016).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Work history, economic resources, and women’s labour market withdrawal after the birth of the first grandchild

2019

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Typically, grandmothers are actively involved in the lives of their grandchildren, most frequently as care providers. At the same time, these individuals become grandparents while still employed. These two roles-of active grandparent and worker-might conflict, since both demand time and energy. This study examines whether the birth of the first grandchild leads to labour market withdrawal for women, and whether there are differences between grandmothers according to their work history and household economic resources. We considered the work history of women both as a measure of work-family preferences and a source of opportunities and constraints to labour market behaviour later in life. Our analyses of data from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA) 2002-2017 using hybrid logistic models show that the probability of labour market withdrawal increases after the birth of the first grandchild. Women who had continuous working careers, or short employment interruptions, were more likely to withdraw from the labour market after the birth of the first grandchild than their counterparts with non-continuous careers, as well as women living in wealthy households. The explanation lies in the lower opportunity cost these women encounter in withdrawing from the labour market. Our findings relate to policies aimed at increasing retirement ages all over Europe, advocating that these measures could conflict with grandmothers' involvement in their grandchildren's lives.

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Grandparenthood and Subjective Well-Being: Moderating Effects of Educational Level

Cited by 85 publications

References 63 publications

Families and Health: A Review

Families and Health: A Review

A prospective study of associations among helping, health, and longevity

Work history, economic resources, and women’s labour market withdrawal after the birth of the first grandchild

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