Lesbians Grieving the Death of a Partner: Recommendations for Practice

ABSTRACT

Spousal loss is a common event that has been associated with risk of depression, anxiety, and loneliness. Practitioners working with lesbians need comprehensive clinical guidelines that integrate research about lesbian partner loss with contemporary views of grief and bereavement. Using this literature, we make recommendations for clinical practice that address the possible contributions of several factors—social support, emotional closeness, relationship satisfaction, disclosure or non-disclosure of sexual identity and the relationship, faith and/or spirituality, and meaning-making—to the grieving process and positive psychological adjustment of lesbians grieving the death of a partner.     

Intergenerational Relationships and Affectual Solidarity Between Grandparents and Young Adults

This study examines whether both parents’ relationships with their offspring, parents, and parents‐in‐law matter for young adults’ perceptions of closeness to grandparents. This study focuses on two groups of grandchildren (ages 18 – 23) in Wave 2 of the National Survey of Families and Households: young adults with married biological parents (N = 442) and those whose biological mother is not married to their biological father (N = 399). Findings suggest that it is important to examine grandparent‐grandchild ties within a complete kinship network. Parents’ relationships with the grandchild and grandparent generations were associated with the grandparent‐grandchild bond. In support of the kinkeeping perspective, mothers’ intergenerational ties across lineage lines appeared to be more influential for grandparent‐grandchild relationships than fathers’.     

Beyond the Nuclear Family: The Increasing Importance of Multigenerational Bonds

Family relationships across several generations are becoming increasingly important in American society. They are also increasingly diverse in structure and in functions. In reply to the widely debated “family decline” hypothesis, which assumes a nuclear family model of 2 biological parents and children, I suggest that family multigenerational relations will be more important in the 21st century for 3 reasons: (a) the demographic changes of population aging, resulting in “longer years of shared lives” between generations; (b) the increasing importance of grandparents and other kin in fulfilling family functions; (c) the strength and resilience of intergenerational solidarity over time. I also indicate that family multigenerational relations are increasingly diverse because of (a) changes in family structure, involving divorce and stepfamily relationships; (b) the increased longevity of kin; (c) the diversity of intergenerational relationship “types.” Drawing on the family research legacy of Ernest W. Burgess, I frame my arguments in terms of historical family transitions and hypotheses. Research from the Longitudinal Study of Generations is presented to demonstrate the strengths of multigenerational ties over time and why it is necessary to look beyond the nuclear family when asking whether families are still functional.     

The Nature and Dimensions of the Grandparent Role

Abstract

Grandparenting is a fundamental personal and social role. Despite its importance, the nature and dimensions of the grandparent role and its relevance to developmental theory is not well understood. Recently, grandparenthood has been conceptualised as a highly generative activity, thus involving developmental work that previously was attributed to middle adulthood. However, the importance of generativity as a means of avoiding a sense of stagnation in older adults has yet to be thoroughly investigated. Not surprisingly, most studies have concluded that grandmothers and grandfathers find the role to be very satisfying. Nevertheless, the psychological factors that influence this satisfaction remain unclear. Future research is required to examine grandparent satisfaction in terms of grandparents' attitudes and expectations, grandparent behaviours (e.g., child care provision) and the derived meaning of grandparenthood. This research needs to follow an integrated, theoretical approach.     

The Legacy of a Grandparent's Divorce: Consequences for Ties Between Grandparents and Grandchildren

This study assesses the implications of divorce in the grandparent generation for grandparent‐grandchild relationships. The sample of 538 grandparents comes from the Iowa Youth and Families Project. Results indicate that many aspects of grandparenting are negatively associated with ever experiencing a divorce. Some of the negative effects of divorce are explained by ever‐divorced grandparents' greater geographic distance from, and weaker bonds to, their adult children. Negative effects of divorce are stronger for grandfathers and paternal grandparents. Furthermore, a good grandparent‐parent relationship can compensate for the negative effects of a grandparent's divorce on relations with grandchildren. Implications of these findings are discussed in the context of the increasing percentage of individuals moving into the later years who have experienced a divorce.     

Differentiating Characteristics and Needs of Minority Grandparent Caregivers

Abstract

Data collected over a three-year period compared two groups of African American grandparent caregivers with a group of European American grandparents who were raising their grandchildren. Gender, marital status, and household income differentiated minority from nonminority participants. Statistically significant differences among certain of the demographic variables between the two groups of African American grandparents were also found. Practical implications of the results for research and practice are discussed through illustrating differences in advocacy needs and agenda-making between two grandparent caregiver support groups.     

Developing the Ideal Grandparent Scale: Initial Validity and Reliability Tests

Extant grandparent-grandchild research identifies numerous attributes of “ideal” grandparents. To date, however, intergenerational communication researchers have not been able to adequately operationalize grandchildren’s perceptions of their grandparents as ideal. As such, the purpose of this study was to develop the Ideal Grandparent Scale (IGS) by (a) assessing its concurrent and construct validity and (b) examining its reliability. First, the IGS items were derived deductively. Second, American grandchildren (N—171) completed the IGS along with several established instruments. The results of partial Pearson correlational analyses provided support for the hypotheses, which established initial evidence of the IGS’s concurrent and construct validity. Similarly, a split-half reliability test followed by a Feldt test and a Fisher z test provided strong support for the IGS’s reliability.     

Explaining the Gender Gap in Help to Parents: The Importance of Employment

Although it is well established that adult daughters spend more time giving assistance to their parents than do sons, the sources of this gender gap are not well understood. This paper asks: To what extent can this gap be explained by structural variation, especially the different rates of employment and kinds of jobs that women and men tend to hold? Using data from the National Survey of Families and Households (N = 7,350), the paper shows that both employment status and job characteristics, especially wages and self‐employment, are important factors in explaining the gender gap in the help given to parents, and that these operate similarly for women and men.     

Adolescents' perspectives on relationships with grandparents: The contribution of adolescent, grandparent, and parent–grandparent relationship variables

There is limited research on adolescent–grandparent relationships, especially from the adolescent perspective and on large-scale samples. The study examined the associations between the adolescent–grandparent relationship (i.e., importance of, emotional closeness to, and respect for grandparents' views) and the characteristics of the adolescent, grandparent, and parent–grandparent relationship, as well as the interactions between several of these factors. It was based on a representative sample of 1478 students aged 11–16 from England and Wales who completed a structured questionnaire. Results supported the position that grandparents are a significant factor in the lives of adolescents. Findings of hierarchical regression analyses showed that more frequent contact, greater grandparent involvement, and better parent–grandparent relationships predicted adolescents' reports on higher levels of emotional closeness to, importance of, and respect for their closest grandparent's views. The interactions consistently emphasized the role of parents as gatekeepers of intergenerational exchange.     

The Changing Demography of Grandparenthood

Demographic changes affect the time that individuals spend in different family roles. Mortality decline increases the time an individual can spend as a grandparent, but childlessness decreases the proportion of people who ever become grandparents, and fertility postponement delays when grandparenthood begins. This article examines changes in the length of grandparenthood at the population level and why it has changed in Canada over a 26‐year period. Using the Sullivan method, years spent as a grandparent are estimated by sex for 1985 and 2011. Results show that grandparenthood is coming significantly later to Canadians, in small part due to increased childlessness and in large part to fertility postponement of respondents and their children. The average length of grandparenthood decreased among women from 24.7 to 24.3 years but increased among men from 17.0 to 18.9 years. The changing timing and length of grandparenthood have implications for multigenerational relationships and intergenerational transfers.     

Grandparents and Their Adult Grandchildren: Recurring Themes From the Literature

ABSTRACT

Research on relationships between adult grandchildren and their grandparents is summarized to examine what is known about this neglected research topic. Viewed from a life span perspective, this review provides information concerning grandparent–adult grandchild interaction patterns, proximity, emotional closeness, and social support and the influence of grandparents on the mental health of adult grandchildren. Also considered is the influence of gender, ethnicity, affinal versus consanguine ties, and divorce on the relationship. Implications of the findings for researchers and family practitioners are discussed.     

Generations learning together: pilot study for a multigenerational program

Generations need to spend time in meaningful activities to facilitate more healthy interactions. An interdisciplinary team worked together to implement an enriching, intergenerational project with 4 year olds, college students, and older adults. College students played an active role in planning/facilitating activities. The overall objective of the research was assessing perceptional change between the generations using pre/posttests with college students, pre-post interviews with older adults, and pre-post teacher led discussions with children. Findings suggest that older adults and college students had improved perceptions. Children’s perceptions remained negative with some positive perceptions.     

“Like My Grandparent,But Not”: A Qualitative Investigation of Skip‐Generation Stepgrandchild–Stepgrandparent Relationships

Families have become increasingly diverse and complex, which has made defining family membership more ambiguous. Issues surrounding family identity, belonging, and shared kinship are relevant in many types of complex families, but they are critically important for stepfamilies. In this study the authors examined stepgrandchild–stepgrandparent relationships; specifically, they explored how 27 stepgrandchildren (M age = 20.8) thought and felt about their relationships with 35 skip‐generation stepgrandparents (i.e., stepgrandparents who did not help raise stepgrandchildren's parents but who have been in the lives of stepgrandchildren from birth or early childhood). Most stepgrandchild–stepgrandparent relationships (n = 24/35) were described as emotionally close and supportive. Stepgrandchildren who perceived stepgrandparents as fulfilling traditional grandparent roles and whose parents modeled and facilitated warm, close relationships with stepgrandparents were most likely to perceive these intergenerational steprelationships as important. The findings have implications for kinship identification in diverse and complex families.     

Impact of Genetic Relatedness and Emotional Closeness on Intergenerational Relations

Both emotional closeness and genetic relatedness are known to influence helping behavior between family generations, yet few studies have explored them together. The authors investigated the associations between (a) parenthood and perceived emotional closeness toward own parents and parents‐in‐law and (b) emotional closeness and receiving child care from grandparents across and within lineage lines. The data include information on the 8 dyads of possible parent–grandparent relations from a nationally representative survey of young adults in Finland (born 1962–1990, sample N = 1,216). The results show that parenthood was associated with women's emotional closeness to their own mothers and men's emotional closeness to their parents‐in‐law. Maternal grandmothers provided the most grandchild care. After controlling for emotional closeness, the difference in child care provision between one's own mother and one's mother‐in‐law disappeared for women but was accentuated in men. Thus, emotional closeness shapes intergenerational relations differently for kin and in‐laws.     

When a Baby Dies: Ambiguity and Stillbirth

ABSTRACT

Stillbirth, or sudden intrauterine death, is in many ways an invisible death. A stillborn infant is one mature enough developmentally to have lived outside the womb but for some reason, or perhaps multiple reasons, was born dead. Stillborn infants are often demarcated from other types of child death and are rarely legitimized as a real loss. When a baby is stillborn, mothers, fathers, surviving siblings, and grandparents may struggle for years to find answers to a series of complex and inherently unanswerable questions. The family members' profound feelings of grief and ambiguity loss are borne in a social environment that denies this reality because the child's death was invisible to most of the world. Boss's framework for understanding ambiguous loss proves quite helpful in thinking about stillbirth.