Relationships

Grandparents are divorcing in numbers larger thanever before. The purpose of this study was todetermine if the relationship between divorcedgrandparents and their grandchildren was differentthan the relationship between married grandparentsand their grandchildren. 101 grandparents who hadgrandchildren in the 12-18 year old range weresurveyed. Grandparents were given a survey toidentify level of saliency, frequency of contact andshared activities, relationship quality, and timespent in grandparenting roles. Data analysis wasused. The importance of the grandparent grandchildrelationship, frequency of contact and sharedactivities, and time spent in grandparenting rolesdid not differ between divorced and marriedgrandparents. Divorced grandmothers had higherrelationship quality with their grandchildren thandid divorced grandfathers. Relationship quality wasalso impacted by the strength of theparent-grandparent bond which strengthened thegrandparent grandchild relationship. Additionalanalyses are suggested. Families and educatorsworking with families need to address the issue ofgrandparents divorcing and the impact this will haveon families for generations.