Beyond Parenting Socialization Years: The Relationship between Parenting Dimensions and Grandparenting Functioning

Abstract

Parental socialization has been studied mainly when is in process, but less is known about its long-term impact on older adults, particularly on one of the most important developmental tasks in later life: being a grandparent. Participants were 313 Spanish grandparents. The present study examined the relationship between parenting and its impacts in the long term, when the child is a grandparent. The variables examined were parenting (parental warmth and parental strictness) and grandparenting functioning (satisfaction with life, meaning of life, parent–adult child relationship quality, emotional closeness with grandchildren, and role overload). The statistical analyses were a correlation analysis and multiple linear regression analyses. A constant pattern between parenting and grandparenting functioning has been found. Warmth was positively associated with grandparenting functioning, as opposed to strictness, which did not show benefits for grandparents and even showed a significant negative relationship with an indicator of grandparenting functioning. Present findings highlight that, during the socialization years, greater parental warmth but not parental strictness might be of benefit for children at the end of their life (i.e., when they are grandparents) but also for their descendants because they have a better relationship with the two following generations (i.e., adult children and grandchildren).

Self-Concept With Cross-Cultural Perspective: 36–72-Month-Old Preschool Children in Turkey and Germany

“…Turkish families belonged to cultural contexts based on collectivistic cultural values while German families belonged to cultural contexts based on individualistic cultural values. In European countries, the relationship between parents and children tended to be more equalitarian ( Garcia et al, 2020 ) and based on warmth and involvement ( Gimenez-Serrano et al, 2022 ), so the parental pressure could be lower than in collectivistic cultural contexts ( Chao, 2001 ). Therefore, in this study, the lack of difference between the social self-concepts of children attending preschool education in Turkey and Germany was a limitation of the study.…”

Digitalisation, Parenting, and Children’s Mental Health: What Are the Challenges and Policy Implications?

“…Children from families with warmth, but without rigour, in comparison with their peers from families with warmth and rigour (authoritative), report equal or even higher indices of wellbeing and competence [ 19 , 26 ]. Likewise, emerging studies analyse the consequences of parental socialisation beyond the years of socialisation [ 34 , 35 , 36 ]. There is a time when parental socialisation has ended: when the child reaches adult age [ 19 , 34 ].…”

“…Likewise, emerging studies analyse the consequences of parental socialisation beyond the years of socialisation [ 34 , 35 , 36 ]. There is a time when parental socialisation has ended: when the child reaches adult age [ 19 , 34 ]. However, their competence or adjustment is also related to the type of family in which they were socialised [ 34 , 37 ].…”

“…There is a time when parental socialisation has ended: when the child reaches adult age [ 19 , 34 ]. However, their competence or adjustment is also related to the type of family in which they were socialised [ 34 , 37 ]. Patterns of parental affection and strictness during the socialisation years, as in studies of children, appear to have a theoretically consistent relationship with the adjustment and competence of adult children, including young adults [ 38 ], middle-aged adults [ 19 ], and older adults [ 34 ].…”

Parenting Style and Emotional Well-Being Among Adolescents: The Role of Basic Psychological Needs Satisfaction and Frustration

“…Regarding the impact of parenting styles on children’s outcomes, several factors should be taken into consideration. Cultural context ( Garcia et al, 2020 ; Gimenez-Serrano et al, 2021 ; Gimenez-Serrano et al, 2022 ), and neighborhood ( Sandoval-Obando et al, 2022 ) play an important role in the association between parenting style and children’s outcomes. Numerous research under Baumrind’s parenting style framework found that in the Western population, authoritative parenting is well-known as the best parenting style ( Devi and Uma, 2013 ; Sahithya et al, 2019 ).…”