What do we know about grandparents? Insights from current quantitative data and identification of future data needs

Hank, Karsten; Cavrini, Giulia; Gessa, Giorgio Di; Tomassini, Cecilia

doi:10.1007/s10433-018-0468-1

Cited by 74 publications

(72 citation statements)

References 85 publications

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“…This may in turn affect the subjective perception of this event as well as the meaning, experience, expectations, and responsibilities attached to this role (Bordone and Arpino 2016;Hagestad and Lang 1986;Kaufman and Elder 2003). Such postponement is also coupled with fewer grandchildren which may affect how grandparents relate to their grandchildren, with more exclusive relations to them compared to the past (Hank et al 2018).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Role of Fertility in the Demography of Grandparenthood: Evidence from Italy

2020

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Grandparents play an important role in their family’s lives. However, little is known about the demography of grandparenthood. Given dramatic recent changes in fertility, we explore the role of number of children and age at first birth in the timing of the transition into grandparenthood focusing on Italy, a country with well-known North-South fertility differentials. We used data from the 2009 Italian Survey ‘Family and Social Relations’ (N = 10,186) to estimate median ages of grandparenthood across three birth cohorts of parents (1920–29; 1930–39; 1940–49). Findings show an overall postponement of age of grandparenthood of 5 years, shifting for women from early to mid- or late-50s (in the South and North, respectively). Such postponement is largely driven by family compositional changes: although the age of grandparenthood among mothers of three or more children has not changed much over cohorts, the percentage of mothers with such characteristic decreased significantly. The heterogeneity in experiencing the transition to grandparenthood has implications for intergenerational transfers and other roles in later life.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Role of Fertility in the Demography of Grandparenthood: Evidence from Italy

2020

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“…While there are indications that, despite a generally high participation of grandfathers in grandchild care, gender inequalities in care among grandparents exist, to our knowledge no previous studies have investigated this issue at a population level. This is partly because, as highlighted by Hank et al (2018), most quantitative surveys have collected limited information about grandparenting. We know whether grandparents look after a grandchild and if so, how frequently and/or how much time is spent on this activity.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Looking after grandchildren: gender differences in ‘when,’ ‘what,’ and ‘why’: Evidence from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing

Gessa¹,

Zaninotto²,

Glaser³

2020

DemRes

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“…All over Europe, increased life expectancy makes it common for grandchildren to grow up while their grandparents are still alive, and research on the multifaceted role of grandparents has begun to proliferate (for a literature review, see Hank et al 2018). Scholars have widely investigated the role of grandparents as childcare providers (Attias-Donfut et al 2005;Hank and Buber 2009) whose positive externalities extend to at least two generations.…”

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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What do we know about grandparents? Insights from current quantitative data and identification of future data needs

Cited by 74 publications

References 85 publications

The Role of Fertility in the Demography of Grandparenthood: Evidence from Italy

The Role of Fertility in the Demography of Grandparenthood: Evidence from Italy

Looking after grandchildren: gender differences in ‘when,’ ‘what,’ and ‘why’: Evidence from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing

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

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