Grandfather Involvement and Aging Men’s Mental Health

Abstract

The mental health of aging men is an understudied social issue. Although it is widely accepted that meaningful family relationships are associated with fewer depressive symptoms and greater positive affect, scholars have largely overlooked relationships between grandfathers and grandchildren as being beneficial to men's mental health. This study investigates the differences in the depressive symptoms and positive affect of 351 grandfathers. Using a cluster analytic technique, participants were categorized as involved, passive, and disengaged based on their frequency of contact, level of commitment, and participation in activities with grandchildren. Comparative analyses indicate that involved grandfathers had fewer depressive symptoms than disengaged grandfathers. Involved grandfathers had significantly higher scores on positive affect than disengaged grandfathers, and passive grandfathers had significantly higher scores on positive affect than disengaged grandfathers. This study provides evidence that grandfather-grandchild relationships influence aging men's mental health. Implications for practitioners working with aging men are discussed.

‘Everyone assumes a man to be quite strong’: Men, masculinity and rheumatoid arthritis: A case‐study approach

“…I can't pick him up', which is particularly difficult because 'he's at the age where you'd like to do more throwing around, picking him up and playing with him'. This loss of the way that hegemonic masculinity would dictate a man should behave with a male child is particularly pertinent when considered in the context of research that suggests positive interactions between grandfathers and grandsons are related to fewer depressive symptoms and positive affect in older men (Bates and Taylor 2012). Whilst some grandfathers choose to engage in potentially risky embodiments of masculinity such as physical play, others emphasise their wisdom and experience (Tarrant 2013).…”

The impact of intensive grandchild care on depressive symptoms among older Koreans

“…In addition, older men often have smaller social networks than older women (Antonucci and Akiyama, ), and loneliness is a strong predictor of depressive symptoms in men (Alpass and Neville, ). In these situations, interactions between grandfathers and grandchildren were associated with reduced depressive symptoms (Bates and Taylor, ). Thus, grandparenting may provide a valuable form of social interaction and may strengthen the relationship with the adult child, leading to a greater decline in depressive symptoms among grandfathers than among grandmothers.…”

'It's Raining, Grandpa, Let's Go Out! So We Went.' Grandfathering as an Essential Role for Older Men

“…Kým pre vnúčatá je napríklad vzťah so starým otcom prostriedkom socializácie do kultúrnej a rodinnej identity [Bates 2009;Waldrop et al 1999] a môže napĺňať podpornú funkciu v časoch rodinných kríz alebo pri úplnej absencii jedného z rodičov [Bullock 2005;Tarrant 2012], môže na druhej strane pozitívne ovplyvňovať kognitívny a celkový psychický stav starého otca [napr. Bates, Taylor 2012]. Bates a Taylor [2013] tvrdia, že bez konceptov starorodičovskej roly mužov môže dôjsť a dochádza k skresleniam a mis-reprezentáciám v modeloch starorodičovstva [Mueller, Eldera 2003;Reese, Murray 1996;Storm, Storm 1997].…”

“…Pri druhom type aktivít sa naši výskumní participanti popisujú ako pasívnejší sprostredkovatelia výnimočného zážitku cez možnosť vycestovať s vnúčatami mimo rámca každodennosti a všedných dní. Oba tieto typy aktivít pre našich participantov predstavujú okrem iného aj možnosť vlastného sebarozvoja, keď mužov vyššieho veku vnúča "nutí něco vymyslet", t. j. majú aktivizačnú funkciu [Bates, Taylor 2012]. Vďaka tomuto správaniu vnúčat môže narastať aj motivácia našich participantov v pestovaní spoločných činností [Bates, Taylor 2013].…”

“…príspevok na bývanie, varenie, stráženie) [Bullock 2005;Hasmanová Marhánková 2014]. Starí otcovia v rámci týchto činností zabezpečujú zo svojho pohľadu výchovu a mentoring vnúčat, spolupodieľajú sa na oddychových činnostiach, pripomínajú a dopĺňajú rodinnú históriu a identitu, investujú do podpory aktivít a budúcnosti vnúčat, či sa podieľajú na podpore cnostných vlastností a schopností detí [Bates, Taylor 2012]. Tieto a iné typy správania sprostredkúvajú starým otcom benefity ako napríklad pocit potrebnosti a užitočnosti, aktivizujú ich a môžu byť tiež prostriedkom vlastného sebarozvoja [Bates, Taylor 2013].…”