The Mediation Effect of Communication on the Relationship between Solidarity and Conflict for Grandmothers Raising Grandchildren and an Adult Child: A Common Fate Model

Abstract

This study showed that the association between solidarity and conflict is mediated by the communication of grandmothers and an adult child at the dyadic level. The common fate model (CFM) was designed to model mediation effects at the level of dyads. Participants consisted of 297 grandmother dyads and their adult child who were rearing preschool-aged grandchildren in Seoul and Gyeonggi-do. For analysis at the dyadic level, grandmothers and adults responded to the same questionnaire on the same variables. SPSS 23.0 performed descriptive statistical analysis and correlation analysis. The structural equation model (SEM) was estimated with AMOS 23.0. We tested the mediation model using the maximum likelihood method. Model fit index used the chi-square statistic, the incremental fit index (IFI), the comparative fit index (CFI), the root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA).The statistical significance of the indirect effect was examined using a bootstrapping procedure. The results are as follows. First, in the CFM, the direct effect between solidarity and conflict was significant. Therefore, the higher the solidarity, the lower conflict of grandmothers and an adult child. Second, the association between solidarity and conflict is mediated by communication at the dyadic level. Based on the results of this study, we discussed ways to strengthen the capacity of co-parenting between grandmothers and an adult child.