Grandparents and Teen Grandchildren: Exploring Intergenerational Relationships

This research focused on the nature of grandparent-grandchild relationships, exploring the ways in which family and societal contexts are impacting on this kinship relation. The focus was on grandparent-grandchild relations when grandchildren are in their teenage years, as little research has been conducted on this phase of the grandchild-grandparent relationship, particularly on the range of help and support provided by grandparents to older grandchildren, or vice versa. Much previous research on grandparenthood has been based upon large-scale surveys, highlighting various predictors of relationship strength and quality. However, such studies are limited in their ability to shed light on how grandparent-grandchild relationships are actually experienced. Information has mainly been gathered from grandparents, parents and young adults, with few studies including the views of children and young people or containing the perspectives of related grandparents and grandchildren. This research redressed the balance by adopting a qualitative approach to explore the experiences of both grandparents and grandchildren. It considered variations in the same person's relationships with several grandchildren or grandparents, placing these in the context of each individual's family, social networks and socio-economic environments. The study emphasised the dynamic nature of grandparent-grandchild relations by examining perceived changes related to life stage and the implications of various family transitions, formations and mobility.