General health perception, depression and quality of life in geriatric grandmothers providing care for grandchildren

Grandparenting and Well-being of the Elderly in China

“…Thus, we find no significant relationship between grandparenting and the physical health of grandparents. In contrast to previous literature asserting that grandparenting, especially intensive grandparenting, has an adverse effect on physical health of the elderly (Jendrek, 1993;Hayslip & Shore, 2000;Chen & Liu, 2012;Musil et al, 2017;Yalcin et al, 2018), our finding do not suggest that grandparenting accelerates physical health decline. Similar to Ku et al (2013) and Liu et (2019), our interpretation is that the net effect of grandparenting on physical health is neutral in the shortrun, while the negative impact of grandparenting on physical health is more salient over the long run.…”

“…Alternatively, the positive effects of grandparenting on caregiver life satisfaction can be seen as an intrinsic reflection of the caregiving system (Brown et al, 2011). Drawing upon psychological theories such as role enhancement theory (Sieber, 1974) and studies in that vein (Di Gessa et al, 2016b;Liu et al, 2019;Yalcin et al, 2018), the role of grandchild caregivers can strengthen the grandparents' relationship with the family. It provides grandparents with emotional gratification but, a sense of personal enrichment and life competence, thereby leading to greater life satisfaction.…”

Family Well-being in Grandparent- Versus Parent-Headed Households

“…The demographic and health correlates of grandparents assuming the caregiving role have been wellcharacterized by previous research. Most custodial grandparents are aged 50 to 59 years 8 and, compared with parents, tend to have poorer physical [9][10][11][12] and mental [13][14][15] health before taking on the demanding role of parenting a child. Custodial grandparents may also feel isolated from peers because the demands of caregiving can be time-consuming.…”

“…27 Previous researchers have further explored grandparent and grandchild outcomes among subpopulations of grandparent caregivers. Analyses have individually been focused on grandmothers 15,28,29 and grandfathers 11 raising grandchildren, racial differences among grandfamilies, 10,29 the diverse cultural attitudes and outcomes of grandparenting, 14,30 and how singlegrandparent caregivers compare with single-parent caregivers. 11,12 These studies individually provide key insights into select components of the grandfamily.…”

A Happy Way to Grow Old? Grandparent Caregiving, Quality of Life and Life Satisfaction

“…Moreover, taking care of grandchildren occupies grandparents' leisure time, raising the opportunity cost of participating in social activities. In this sense, grandparent caregiving can exacerbate the grandparents' burden and undermine their physical health and this negative effect is even significant on grandmothers who are expected to take the custodial role (Musil et al, 2017;Yalcina et al, 2018).…”