Grandparents in multigenerational households: the case of Portugal

Abstract

Population ageing has paved the way for important and lasting multigenerational bonds, particularly between grandparents and grandchildren. Proximity is a powerful enhancer of relations, and co-residence, by involving continual proximity and long-term commitment, is particularly facilitative of significant linkages between generations. Although co-residence has generally been decreasing in Western societies, in the last decades of the millennium, a trend reversal was identified in the proportion of multigenerational households in the USA. Using data drawn from the European Community Household Panel, 1994-2001, some descriptive insights are provided that were considered to be missing in regard to the sociodemographic composition of extended households with grandparents in Portugal. Additionally, this study finds a rising trend in the proportion of multigenerational households, specifically those that include both grandparents and grandchildren. Portugal is possibly the European country that has the highest probability of exhibiting this pattern of evolution, because of the combination of its being a welfare state with limited resources, its historical reliance on family solidarity and its high level of participation of women in the labor market. Co-residence is a type of intergenerational transfer that can benefit any of the generations involved, but the direction of its net flow is still open to debate. A breakdown is made of its trend into age, period and cohort effects, in order to contribute to the discussion of the relative importance of the different generations in the shared living arrangement. Our findings suggest a mixture of interests, as well as a predominant influence of contemporary circumstances in the observed trend. These contemporary circumstances may be persistent or transient, but co-residence with grandparents is certainly an enduring mechanism, which households use in order to meet their needs.

Trends in the prevalence of grandparents living with grandchild(ren) in selected European countries and the United States

“…A growing body of work has investigated the involvement of grandparents in grandchild care from a predominantly European comparative perspective (Bordone et al 2017 ; Di Gessa et al 2016 ; Hank and Buber 2009 ; Igel and Szydlik 2011 ; Koslowski 2009 ; Price et al Forthcoming). In contrast, there is little comparative research on grandparental coresidence with most work based on single countries, and little analysis of trends for Europe (Albuquerque 2011 ; Casper and Bryson 1998 ; Dunifon et al 2014 ; Goodman and Silverstein 2002 ; Minkler 1999 ; Nandy and Selwyn 2013 ; Pebley and Rudkin 1999 ; Pew Research Center 2010 ; Pew Research Center 2013 ; Pew Research Center 2014 ; Prokos and Keene 2012 ; Selwyn and Nandy 2014 ). An understanding of variations over time in grandparent coresidence is critical as it is strongly associated with both grandparental child and kinship care (Baydar and Brooks-Gunn 1998 ; Vandell et al 2003 ), and may be either beneficial or detrimental for the health and wellbeing of each generation (Chambers et al 2017 ; Dunifon and Kowaleski-Jones 2007 ; Hayslip and Kaminski 2005 ; Kreidl and Hubatkova 2014 ; Mutchler and Baker 2009 ; Pittman and Boswell 2008 ; Szinovacz et al 1999 ; Tanskanen 2013 ).…”

“…In Europe, intergenerational households are less common in Northern than in Southern and Eastern Europe; however, we know little about trends in these household types (Albuquerque 2011 ; Iacovou and Skew 2011 ; Koslowski 2009 ; Tomassini et al 2004 ). A Portuguese study showed an increase in the percentage of households with grandparents from 1994 to 2001 from around 7–11% (Albuquerque 2011 ). In the UK, it is estimated that in 2001, 1% of children co-resided with grandparents and that this proportion doubled between 1991 and 2001 (Nandy et al 2011 ).…”

“…In Europe, there is limited evidence on the characteristics of grandparent households and on changes over time in these households (Albuquerque 2011 ; Koslowski 2009 ; Nandy and Selwyn 2013 ; Selwyn and Nandy 2014 ). In the UK, close to half of grandmother kinship caregivers reported a limiting long-term illness (Nandy and Selwyn 2013 ).…”

Segurar a família pelas pontas: Os dilemas dos avós cuidadores a tempo inteiro

“…No entanto, quer o padrão de corresidência, tendencialmente crescente em Portugal (Albuquerque, 2011), quer a noção de família nuclear de outras culturas, que inclui todos os familiares próximos e distantes (Kuyini, Alhassan, Tollerud, Weld & Haruna, 2009) Sequências normativas do ciclo vital da família (Relvas, 2000) são inesperadamente alteradas quando, após o ninho vazio, os avós tornam a ser cuidadores a tempo inteiro dos seus netos. (Bailey, Letiecq & Porterfield, 2009 satisfazer as necessidades básicas dos filhos; disponibilizar à criança um mundo físico e organizado; responder às necessidades da compreensão cognitiva das realidades extrafamiliares; satisfazer as necessidades de afeto, confiança e segurança; e necessidade de interação social da criança e sua integração na comunidade.…”

“…Estas soluções de coabitação estão associadas à falta de independência financeira parental (Albuquerque, 2011;Pebley & Rudklin, 1999). Aos avós em full -time, na ausência de pais biológicos, associam -se preferencialmente situações de abandono ou incapacidade parental temporária ou permanente (Alexandre, 2010;Dias, Costa & Rangel, 2005;Malita, 2008).…”