The Influence of Grandparents in Single‐Mother Families

Abstract

This article examines whether children living with single mothers benefit when they also live with a grandparent, using data from the 1979 to 2002 waves of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth merged mother‐child file (N = 6,501). Results indicate that for White children, living with a single mother and a grandparent is associated with increased cognitive stimulation and higher reading recognition scores, compared to living with a single mother alone. For Black children, grandparent coresidence is associated with less cognitive stimulation. Thus, in some instances, living with a grandparent can benefit children, but the pattern of results differs by race.

Grandparent Coresidence and Family Well-Being

“…In contrast, studies using more 116 the ANNALS oF the AMeRICAN ACADeMy robust techniques to address selection into coresidential situations (Augustine and Raley 2013;Dunifon and Kowaleski-Jones 2007) find evidence that African American children do not derive benefits from three-generational living arrangements.…”

“…If this is the case, estimates of the associations between three-generational arrangements and individual or family well-being will be biased. Very few studies have addressed this issue; exceptions include Dunifon and Kowaleski-Jones's (2007) use of a child fixed-effects design, and Augustine and Raley's (2013) propensity score analysis. Future work in this area should strive to employ rigorous research designs to address the selection of families into living arrangements.…”

The magnitude and timing of grandparental coresidence during childhood in the United States

“…Race and ethnicity are strongly associated with socioeconomic and cultural factors that promote grandparental coresidence, with or without parents present (e.g., Stykes, Manning, and Brown 2014;Rossi and Rossi 1990). In addition to racial disparities in exposure to grandparental coresidence (e.g., Ellis and Simons 2014), race and ethnicity are also important moderators of linkages between grandparental coresidence and child well-being (Dunifon and Kowaleski-Jones 2007;Pilkauskas 2014).…”

Educational test scores among adolescents in three-generational households in 20 countries

“…Previous studies on three generational households have shown mixed results on the effect of grandparental presence on child well-being (e.g., Deleire & Kalil, 2002;Dunifon & Kowaleski-Jones, 2007). One key factor explaining this is the varying age of the grandchildren and, as a consequence, the age of grandparents.…”