Educational Differences in the Cognitive Functioning of Grandmothers Caring for Grandchildren in South Korea

Abstract

This study examined the effects of grandchild care on the cognitive functioning of Korean grandmothers and the moderating role of education. Data were drawn from the Korean Longitudinal Study of Ageing (KLoSA), a nationally representative sample of middle-aged and older adults (N = 2,341). Contrary to much of the current literature, grandchild care was found to be potentially beneficial for grandmothers. For the entire sample, child care had instantaneous effects on grandmothers' cognition, although there were no longitudinal effects. However, when the sample was divided into grandmothers with higher and lower education, child care was both instantaneously and longitudinally beneficial to cognition for grandmothers with higher education. For less educated grandmothers, child care did not have either immediate or lagged effects on cognition. The results partially support the "Use It or Lose It" hypothesis and the "Scaffolding Theory of Cognitive Aging," suggesting that engagement in social activities is beneficial to cognitive health in later life. Results are congruent with previous studies noting that the effects of grandchild care on grandparents are contingent on various conditions and factors such as the educational level of grandparents.

Prediction of future cognitive impairment among the community elderly: A machine-learning based approach

“…Other studies have shown that gender 30 and body mass index 31 played a role in the future cognitive functioning among the elderly. Some studies revealed risk factors for the cognitive functioning in a cross-sectional design 13,32,33 . However, although the data similar to those in the previous studies were used herein, the present study differed in terms of the objective.…”

Grandparents providing care for grandchildren: implications for economic preparation for later life in South Korea

“…For example, the United Kingdom introduced national insurance credits for grandparents providing grandchild care and designed these insurance credits to be accumulated towards a public pension (Glaser et al 2010). Considering that grandparents providing grandchild care belong generally to middle and older age groups (Jun 2015), and are predominantly female, care-giving credits for Korean grandparents providing care for grandchildren could add pension credits and later pension payments, which can help to bolster financial wellbeing in later life and reduce economic inequality between older men and women.…”

“…In Korea, grandmothers also are more likely than grandfathers to provide care to grandchildren (Ko and Hank 2013; Lee and Bauer 2010), which is consistent with findings from other countries (Hank and Buber 2009; Minkler and Fuller-Thomson 2005). Korea has considered taking care of children as the female's role due to the Confucian culture (Jun 2015; Maehara and Takemura 2007). In Confucian culture, women have the main responsibility for caring for their children and grandmothers have been a main resource in child care (J. Lee 2009).…”

Cognitive Impairment in Grandparents: A Systematic Review

“…A total of eight records were included for this systematic review: five original articles, [33][34][35][36][37] one narrative review 22 and two editorials. 17,38 One of the original articles, a working paper, was retrieved during snowballing process.…”