Skip to main content
NCBI home page
NIHPA Author Manuscripts logoLink to NIHPA Author Manuscripts
. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2024 Jan 26.
Published in final edited form as: J Marriage Fam. 2021 Jan 15;83(3):754–768. doi: 10.1111/jomf.12750

Grieving a Grandparent: The Importance of Gender and Multigenerational Relationships

Jeffrey E Stokes 1, Yijung K Kim 2,*, Kyungmin Kim 3,**, Karen L Fingerman 4,***
PMCID: PMC10817756  NIHMSID: NIHMS1908691  PMID: 38282764

Abstract

Objective:

This study examined adult grandchildren’s experience of losing a grandparent in the context of a multigenerational family.

Background:

Although the death of a grandparent in adulthood is often an expected life event, this loss may still result in grief for adult grandchildren. Furthermore, bereavement is not merely an individual experience, but a family one. Characteristics of the relationship between bereaved adult grandchildren and their bereaved middle-generation parents may influence adult grandchildren’s grief responses. This includes both structural (e.g., gender of parent; coresidence with parent) and emotional (e.g., relationship quality; worry about parent) aspects of this tie.

Method:

Young adult grandchildren from Wave 2 of the Family Exchanges Study (2013, N = 204) reported on their recent grandparent loss experiences (N = 216) and relationships with their middle-generation parents (N= 142).

Results:

Three-level multilevel models revealed that (a) grandsons who lost a grandmother reported significantly fewer grief symptoms than all other gender combinations; (b) worry about a middle-generation parent was associated with higher grief symptoms, but; (c) this effect was significantly stronger when the middle-generation parent was a mother, and when adult grandchildren were coresident with that bereaved parent. Finally, relationship quality with the middle-generation parent was not associated with grief symptoms, irrespective of context.

Conclusion:

Results highlight the intersection of emotional and structural aspects of multigenerational relationships following the death of a family member.

Keywords: adult grandchildren, bereavement, grandparent death, grief, intergenerational

Multiple generations are sharing longer periods of their lives together than ever before, at the same time that there are fewer family members in each generation (Bengtson, 2001; Margolis & Wright, 2017). As a result, the significance of the grandparent–grandchild bond has also increased, with a smaller number of grandchildren and grandparents forging strong emotional bonds (Kemp, 2005; Mills et al., 2001). Moreover, the grandparent–grandchild relationship extends beyond midlife or older adults and minor children, and now involves grandchildren who have attained adulthood and even middle age themselves (e.g., Moorman & Stokes, 2016).

Grandparents play a number of key roles in family functioning. Grandparents are a source of emotional, financial, and instrumental support, as well as a role model of longevity and parenthood, and their ties to grandchildren are characterized by a high level of support and a history of caregiving (Brown, 2003; Goodsell et al., 2011; Huo et al., 2018; Kemp, 2005; Silverstein & Marenco, 2001). For many young adults, the death of a grandparent is the first loss of a kin tie that affects them both directly and indirectly (Manoogian et al., 2018; Umberson, 2003). Yet family research is often limited to examination of ties between two generations, and not much is known about the broader family context within which the death of a grandparent shapes adult grandchildren’s grief experiences.

Using Wave 2 from the Family Exchanges Study, we examined adult grandchildren’s experience of losing a grandparent in the context of a multigenerational family. We first assessed how structural aspects of relationships – including gender of the grandparent, adult grandchild, and/or middle-generation parent, as well as coresidence of adult grandchildren with their middle-generation parents – may affect the response such a loss elicits from adult grandchildren. We then examined whether emotional aspects of adult grandchildren’s relationships with middle-generation parents may also help shape adult grandchildren’s grief responses.

The Death of a Grandparent

The death of a family member is a significant life event that “reverberates” throughout the family network, affecting each family member individually and the family itself as a unit (Bowen, 2004; Kim et al., 2019; Umberson, 2003). Certain types of family death, such as the death of a spouse or a child, have received ample attention in bereavement research, due to their evident consequences to health and well-being for bereaved family members (Stroebe et al., 2007). Further evidence shows that other family deaths – such as the death of an aged parent – can lead to profound grief experiences and instigate significant life transitions for bereaved offspring (Leopold & Lechner, 2015; Marks et al., 2007). The death of a grandparent could also result in grief among adults. A recent qualitative study by Manoogian et al. (2018) found that young adults who lost a grandparent were deeply affected by the death; they often changed the way they live, reflected on the mortality of themselves and others, and noted how the experience has altered other family relationships. Not all grandparent–grandchild ties are positive, however, and the death of a grandparent may not be impactful for all (Abeles et al., 2004; Kemp, 2007). Some young adults in Manoogian et al.’s (2018) study were less distressed than others, but still found themselves affected by how the death had disturbed the family.

In the case of parental death, adult offspring’s prior relationship with the deceased parent shapes the type and the extent of grief-related symptoms (Stokes, 2016a; Umberson, 2003). Response to a grandparent’s death may likewise depend on the role the deceased grandparent played in the grandchild’s life (Abeles et al., 2004; Manoogian et al., 2018). A substantial body of research shows that grandparents and adult grandchildren provide each other with emotional, practical, and instrumental support (Goodsell et al., 2011; Huo et al., 2018; Kemp, 2007; Silverstein & Marenco, 2001). Indeed, affectual and instrumental aspects of grandparent–adult grandchild relationships are influential for members of both generations (Moorman & Stokes, 2016). At present, many grandparents share well over two decades of their lives with grandchildren, and many participate actively in their grandchildren’s lives (Carr & Utz, 2020; Margolis & Wright, 2017). Thus, the death of a grandparent in adulthood is a historically recent and potentially important transition, which to date has received little research attention. This study further situates this loss experience within the broader multigenerational context, as bereaved adult grandchildren often grieve alongside their bereaved middle-generation parents.

Gender and the Grandparent–Grandchild Relationship

In bereavement literature, gender of both the deceased and the bereaved has consistently been found to alter the strength of grief reactions (Abeles et al., 2004; Umberson & Chen, 1994). Studies involving multigenerational family ties in particular find that such family dynamics are gendered (Birditt et al., 2012; Monserud, 2008, 2010a). Yet, the implications of gender in the grandparent–grandchild relationship remain unclear and could be conceptualized in several different ways (Block, 2000; Silverstein & Long, 1998). For instance, prior research indicates that grandmothers’ ties to grandchildren are more emotionally salient and active than those of grandfathers (Reitzes & Mutran, 2004; Silverstein & Marenco, 2001). Grandmothers may be viewed more favorably than grandfathers, and research has shown that grandmothers participate more and have closer relationships with their grandchildren than do grandfathers (Fingerman, 2004; Geurts et al., 2009; Silverstein & Marenco, 2001). Therefore, the death of a grandmother may lead to greater grief reactions than the death of a grandfather.

The role that grandchildren’s gender may also play concerning grief experiences after grandparent loss is less clear. Although grandchildren’s gender has been found to shape various aspects of the grandparent–grandchild tie, the effects are not consistent across outcomes (Monserud, 2010a, 2010b, 2011). Men and women differ in their expressions of grief (Carver et al., 2014; Marks et al., 2007), and in the case of adult children’s experience of parental death, daughters were found to report stronger grief symptoms over the loss of a parent than were sons (Leopold & Lechner, 2015). Thus, bereaved granddaughters may report stronger grief reactions than bereaved grandsons.

However, the salience of this relationship – and its loss – may depend on the gender constellation of the grandparent–grandchild dyad. For example, granddaughters rate their grandmothers as more important (Dubas, 2001) and bond with their grandmothers more over the meaning of parenthood than they do with their grandfathers (Goodsell et al., 2011). Similarly, grandsons reported feeling closer to their grandfathers and identified them as role models (Abeles et al., 2004; Goodsell et al., 2011). Thus, we examined whether grief experiences after the death of a grandparent vary according to the gender of each generation and consider the gender of multiple generations in conjunction with one another. We anticipate that granddaughters who lose a grandmother will experience the greatest grief symptoms, whereas grandsons who lose a grandmother will experience the fewest grief symptoms; grief experiences of granddaughters and grandsons who lose a grandfather are expected to fall somewhere in-between. We do not anticipate that the processes involving the middle-generation parent will vary by grandparent and grandchild gender combination, but rather by parent gender.

The Role of the Middle Generation in the Grandparent–Grandchild Relationship

An individual’s grief experiences following the death of a family member are embedded within a larger family culture (Abeles et al., 2004; Bowen, 2004). One important characteristic of the death of a grandparent is that the loss of an aged parent for one generation (i.e., the middle generation) is simultaneously the loss of a grandparent for the next generation. As such, bereaved middle-generation parents and adult grandchildren do not grieve in isolation, but may be affected by their shared grief and shared bereavement experience. Understanding adult grandchildren’s experience of losing a grandparent therefore requires examining the structure and function of their relationship with middle-generation parents, as well. The grandparent–grandchild relationship is often contingent upon the middle generation’s role (e.g., Bengtson, 2001; Fingerman, 2004), and adult grandchildren’s grief responses may likewise be affected by the perceived effects of the loss experience on their own middle-generation parents.

Adult grandchildren’s ties with their own parents can shape and alter their ties with grandparents (e.g., Monserud, 2008). Indeed, middle-generation parents serve as “gatekeepers” or facilitators of the kin network, who manage the contact in the grandparent–grandchildren tie (Block, 2000; Kemp, 2007; Monserud, 2008). For example, adult grandchildren’s contact with the grandparent typically diminishes once they leave their parental home, because the opportunities provided by middle-generation parents to interact with grandparents are reduced (Geurts et al., 2009). Intergenerational coresidence is thus a key factor impacting the frequency and quality of parent–child interactions (Fingerman et al., 2012; White & Rogers, 1997), and may maintain grandparent–grandchild closeness further into adulthood. We therefore expect that the loss of a coresident middle-generation parent’s own mother or father will provoke heightened grief symptoms in bereaved adult grandchildren.

Moreover, middle-generation parent’s gender is important, as grandchildren report having closer relationships with maternal grandparents than with paternal ones (Chan & Elder Jr., 2000; Monserud, 2011). This is likewise due to the role the middle-generation plays in fostering the grandparent–grandchild bond, with adult daughters often being more involved in maintaining family ties than are sons (Brown, 2003; Fingerman, 2004). Given adult grandchildren’s closer ties with their mother’s parents than with the father’s parents, we expect that the loss of a maternal grandparent will also lead to greater grief symptoms following loss.

In addition to such structural aspects of the relationship between middle-generation parents and adult grandchildren, emotional aspects of this relationship may be critical for adult grandchildren’s grief responses as well. For instance, positive relationship quality – a measure of perceived emotional closeness – between bereaved parents and their adult children may act as a type of social support that aids grieving individuals (Stokes, 2016b). Positive relationship quality with a middle-generation parent may therefore indicate a level of family cohesion or the availability of social support for the adult grandchildren, and/or vice versa (Stokes, 2016a). This shared availability, provision, and receipt of emotional support may help to reduce adult grandchildren’s grief symptoms following loss, particularly if the bereaved middle-generation parent is a mother (Stokes, 2016b). We therefore expect that adult grandchildren’s perceived positive relationship quality with their bereaved middle-generation parent will be inversely associated with adult grandchildren’s grief symptoms.

Furthermore, adult grandchildren may experience more severe grief symptoms when a bereaved middle-generation parent exhibits worrisome signs or symptoms following loss. Worry is a commonly experienced emotion in parent–adult children ties (Hay et al., 2007). Following the death of a grandparent, an adult grandchild’s worry about the middle-generation parent may be a proxy for the significance of the death and the extent of the middle-generation parent’s grief. Because bereavement experiences within families can be a shared process rather than a purely individual process, a bereaved middle-generation parent’s experience – and expression – of grief may affect bereaved adult grandchildren’s own coping processes (e.g., Bowen, 2004; Monin et al., 2017). Of course, worry about a middle-generation parent may be due to reasons aside from grief as well, including that parent’s mental or physical health, self-care, and financial problems. Yet even so, worry about a bereaved middle-generation parent may lead to heightened grief symptoms among adult grandchildren simply due to accumulated stress and lack of perceived emotional and social support that result from viewing a bereaved parent with worry. Thus, we expect that adult grandchildren’s reports of worry about their bereaved middle-generation parents will be associated with higher grief symptoms.

Intersection of Structural and Emotional Aspects of Parent–Child Relationships

There are numerous ways in which both structural (e.g., intergenerational coresidence, gender) and emotional (e.g., positive relationship quality, worry about parent) aspects of the relationship between adult grandchildren and their middle-generation parents may impact the adult grandchildren’s grief symptoms. Importantly, though, such structural aspects of this relationship may also moderate the effects of emotional characteristics of the parent–child relationship on adult grandchildren’s grief responses following the death of a grandparent.

Both intergenerational coresidence and middle-generation parent’s gender are likely to influence adult grandchildren’s grief outcomes in part because these affect the closeness of ties between adult grandchildren and both their middle-generation parent and their grandparent (Fingerman, 2004; Geurts et al., 2009). Thus, it is likewise possible that the “structural closeness” of the relationship between middle-generation parents and adult grandchildren will determine the impact of emotional aspects of this relationship on grief outcomes, as well. In other words, adult grandchildren may be more affected by emotional aspects of their relationship with bereaved middle-generation parents when they are structurally closer with those parents.

For example, coresident adult children tend to be younger and more dependent on parental support (Fingerman et al., 2012), which suggests that such adult grandchildren may be more strongly affected by their middle-generation parent’s level of distress following the death of a grandparent. They may also be more dependent on emotional support and positive relationship quality than non-coresident adult grandchildren following loss, as well (White & Rogers, 1997). Further, in times of family crisis, such physical proximity could also mean that family members have less opportunity to remove themselves from the shared bereavement experience, to hide their grief from others or mourn in privacy. Thus, coresidence may heighten both the perception and the potency of adult grandchildren’s worry concerning their bereaved middle-generation parents (e.g., Monin et al., 2017).

Gender of the middle-generation parent is likely to be critical, as well. Prior research has found that emotional closeness with a surviving parent improves grief outcomes among bereaved adult children when that surviving parent is a mother, but not when it is a father (Stokes, 2016b). Similarly, worry about a recently bereaved middle-generation parent may be more influential when that parent is a mother rather than a father, given that adult children report greater closeness with their mothers than with fathers (Van Gaalen & Dykstra, 2006).

In sum, we anticipate that both structural and emotional aspects of adult grandchildren’s relationships with their middle-generation parents will be influential for adult grandchildren’s grief symptoms following a shared loss experience of an eldest generation (grand)parent. Moreover, we expect that structural aspects of the relationship – such as coresidence of adult grandchildren with middle-generation parents, and middle-generation parent’s gender – will moderate associations between emotional aspects of this relationship (positive relationship quality, worry about parent) and adult grandchildren’s grief symptoms (e.g., Fingerman et al., 2012; Stokes, 2016b; White & Rogers, 1997). Specifically, we expect the associations of (a) positive relationship quality with a middle-generation parent and (b) worry about a middle-generation parent with adult grandchildren’s grief symptoms to be strongest when adult grandchildren coreside with their bereaved middle-generation parent, and when that middle-generation parent is a mother.

Study Aims

The purpose of this study is to examine grief reactions among adult grandchildren following the death of a grandparent. Moreover, we situate this loss experience within a multigenerational context and use data from the second wave of the Family Exchanges Study (2013) to address four primary research questions:

  1. Do grief experiences of bereaved adult grandchildren vary according to gender of both the grandparent and grandchild?

  2. Do grief experiences of bereaved adult grandchildren vary according to coresidence with a bereaved middle-generation parent and/or gender of the bereaved middle-generation parent?

  3. Do grief experiences of bereaved adult grandchildren vary according to emotional characteristics of their relationship with a middle-generation parent (i.e., relationship quality with parent, worry about parent)?

  4. Do the structural aspects of bereaved adult grandchildren’s relationships with bereaved middle-generation parents (i.e., coresidence with parent, gender of parent) moderate associations between emotional aspects of this relationship (i.e., relationship quality with parent, worry about parent) and adult grandchildren’s grief symptoms?

Method

Data and Sample

Data for this study came from the second wave of the Family Exchanges Study (FES; Fingerman, 2013). In 2008, the FES recruited 633 middle-aged adults (aged 40–60) who had at least one child over age 18 and one living parent. The study identified potential participants via listed samples from Genesys Corporation supplemented with random digit dialing within geographic area codes in the Philadelphia Primary Metropolitan Statistical Area (PMSA), encompassing five counties in southeastern Pennsylvania and four counties in New Jersey, including urban, suburban, and rural areas. Computer-assisted telephone interviews were conducted with the middle-aged participants for approximately 1hour. Participants provided information regarding their relationships with each older parent (i.e., grandparents; N = 868) and grown offspring (i.e., grandchildren; N = 1,384) in the main survey. The middle-aged participants’ parents and offspring can reside in other locales than Philadelphia areas. FES also oversampled individuals in Philadelphia county, high-density minority areas, and lower socioeconomic households to assure high minority representation (37% of the sample) – focusing on the two largest racial groups in the Philadelphia area (European Americans and African Americans). The FES sample appeared comparable to the PMSA with regard to income, but slightly better educated (see Fingerman et al., 2009 for more details on recruitment).

In 2013, the FES middle-aged participants’ grown offspring (i.e., adult grandchildren) were contacted for the second wave of data collection, and 740 completed a telephone or web-based offspring survey (response rate = 60%). Of the total sample, 211 of these young adults lost at least one grandparent (i.e., the FES middle-aged participants’ parents) since 2008. Because 13 of the 211 bereaved grandchildren lost both target grandparents between waves, there were a total of 224 loss experiences, nested within 211 adult grandchildren, drawn from 144 families. Following listwise deletion of cases (see below), the final analytic sample included 216 loss experiences of 204 adult grandchildren from 142 families.

Measures

Grief Symptoms Following Grandparent Loss.

Participants reported on grief symptoms experienced in the past month in response to each grandparent loss. The grief measure combined four items for common grief symptoms (e.g., longing, feelings of intense pain or grief; Carr et al., 2000) and four items for complicated grief symptoms (e.g., feeling angry, feeling stunned or dazed; Prigerson et al., 1995). Responses were rated on a 5-point scale (1 = never to 5 = always) and a mean score across 8 items was calculated (α= 0.91), with a higher score indicating higher levels of grief (M = 1.67; SD = 0.80). The grief symptoms scale was transformed using the natural logarithm to correct for significant skew.

Grandparent–Grandchild Gender Composition.

As a main predictor, we considered gender composition between grandchild participants and the deceased grandparent: (a) granddaughter–grandmother (33%; reference), (b) grandson–grandmother (21%), (c) granddaughter–grandfather (28%), and (d) grandson–grandfather (19%).

Adult Grandchildren’s Relationship With a Middle-Generation Parent.

Participants reported on their relationships with the middle-generation parent (i.e., deceased grandparent’s child). For structural aspects of the relationship, we considered gender of middle-generation parents (1 = father, 0 = mother) to distinguish between paternal and maternal grandparents (39% lost paternal grandparents, 61% lost maternal grandparents). We also considered coresidence with the middle-generation parent (1 = coresiding, 0 = not coresiding).

For emotional aspects of the relationship, we included positive relationship quality and worry. Positive relationship quality was assessed with two items (i.e., love/care for, understand; Birditt et al., 2010; Umberson, 1992). Participants rated the items on a 5-point scale (1 = not at all to 5 = a great deal) and a mean score of the two items was calculated (ρ = 0.61), with higher scores indicating better relationship quality (M = 4.23, SD = 0.74). Positive relationship quality was transformed using the natural logarithm of the reversed distribution, to correct for significant skew; the transformed variable was then reversed, such that higher values indicate greater positive relationship quality, and mean-centered for analysis. Worry about the middle-generation parent was measured with a single item (Hay et al., 2007). Thus, participants indicated how much they worry about their parent from 1 (not at all) to 5 (a great deal; M = 3.28, SD = 1.19). Worry about the parent was mean-centered for analysis.

Control Variables.

We adjusted for participants’ sociodemographic characteristics including: age (in years), race/ethnicity (1 = non-Hispanic white, 0 = racial or ethnic minority), years of education, employment status (1 = employed full- or part-time, 0 = not employed), student status (1 = student, 0 = not a student), marital status (1 = married or cohabiting, 0 = not married), and parental status (1 = has a child, 0 = does not have a child). For health characteristics, we considered self-rated health (1 = poor to 5 = excellent) and depressive symptoms. Depressive symptoms were assessed with six items from the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI; Derogatis, 2001), including lonely, blue, worthless, hopeless about the future, no interest in things, and depressed. Responses were rated from 1 (not at all) to 5 (extremely), and a mean score was calculated (α = 0.87). We also controlled for participants’ neuroticism, which was assessed using four items (i.e., moody, worrying, nervous, calm (reverse-coded); Lachman & Weaver, 1997). Responses were rated from 1 (not at all) to 5 (a great deal), and a mean score across four items was calculated (α = 0.70). Finally, we controlled for time since loss (in years; range = 0–5), as well as for how long prior to the death participants were aware that the grandparent was dying (1 = no warning or a few minutes to 8 = 1 to 2years) because more or less sudden losses may affect the grieving process (Carr et al., 2001).

Analytic Strategy

Multilevel modeling (MLM) was used to account for the non-independence of observations. A three-level structure was estimated to account for both the nesting of bereavement experiences within persons and the nesting of persons (i.e., adult grandchildren) within families. That is, some adult grandchildren lost more than one grandparent between the data collection waves, and some families included more than one adult grandchild reporting on the loss of a deceased grandparent.

The vast majority of cases (96.43%) had complete data on all measures included in the models. The item with the greatest amount of missing data was adult grandchild’s marital status (valid N = 221 of 224, or 1.34% missing). Because of the miniscule level of missing data, listwise deletion was used in analyses. The final analytic sample for models concerning grief symptoms consisted of 216 bereavement experiences of 204 adult grandchildren from 142 multigenerational families.

Analysis began with a main effects model, which included the predictors of interest alongside all covariates. Interactions were then tested between emotional aspects (i.e., worry about parent, positive relationship quality) and structural aspects (i.e., middle-generation parent’s gender, coresidence) of the relationship between bereaved adult grandchildren and their middle-generation parents, respectively. The final model included all predictors of interest, covariates, and significant interaction terms identified throughout the modeling process. Supplemental analyses using alternative measurement strategies for multigenerational gender composition were also conducted, including (a) separate indicators of gender for each generation; (b) indicators of middle-generation parent and grandchild gender combinations, alongside a dichotomous indicator of grandparent gender; and (c) indicators of grandparent and middle-generation parent gender combinations, alongside a dichotomous indicator of grandchild gender, and these produced consistent results (available upon request).

Results

Descriptive Results

Descriptive statistics for all measures are reported in Table 1. Overall, adult grandchildren’s grief symptoms were fairly modest, averaging 1.68 on the 5-point scale. Positive relationship quality with middle-generation parents was very high (M = 4.27 on the 5-point scale), while worry about middle-generation parents was considerable as well (M = 3.26 on the 5-point scale). Bereaved grandchildren ranged from 18 to 44years old in age (M = 28.66years), and only a quarter of grandchildren (25.46%) coresided with a middle-generation parent. The majority of loss experiences involved granddaughters (59.26%), loss of a grandmother (53.24%), and loss of a maternal grandparent (60.65%).

Table 1.

Descriptive Statistics, Family Exchanges Study - Wave 2

Variable M (SD)
Outcome
 Grief symptomsa 1.68 (0.81)
Grandparent-grandchild gender composition
 Grandson lost grandmother, % 20.83
 Grandson lost grandfather, % 19.91
 Granddaughter lost grandmother, % 32.41
 Granddaughter lost grandfather, % 26.85
Relationship with middle-generation parent
 middle-generation parent is father, % 39.35
 Coresides with parent, % 25.46
 Positive relationship qualityb 4.27 (0.67)
 Worry about parentc 3.26(1.17)
Adult grandchild covariates
 Age 28.66 (5.88)
 Racial/ethnic minority, % 18.98
 Education (years) 13.80(1.92)
 Employed (full- or part-time), % 83.33
 Student, % 25.93
 Married or cohabiting, % 36.11
 Has children, % 25.93
 Self-rated healthd 3.67 (0.91)
 Depressive symptomse 1.65 (0.69)
 Neuroticismf 2.71 (0.77)
 Time since loss (years) 2.27 (1.55)
 How long before did you know grandparent was dyingg 4.24 (2.35)
Open in a new tab

Notes. Reports on 216 deceased grandparents by 204 adult grandchild participants (from 142 families).

a

Mean of 8 items rated 1 (never) to 5 (always).

b

Mean of 2 items rated 1 (not at all) to 5 (a great deal).

c

Rated 1 (not at all) to 5 (a great deal).

d

Rated 1 (poor) to 5 (excellent).

e

Mean of 6 items rated 1 (not at all) to 5 (extremely).

f

Mean of 4 items rated 1 (not at all) to 5 (a great deal).

g

Rated 1 (no warning or a few minutes) to 5 (1 to 2 years).

Analytic Results

Results of multilevel models concerning grief symptoms following the death of a grandparent are reported in Table 2. Model 1 reported the main effects of the predictors of interest, accounting for all covariates. Deceased grandparent–grandchild gender composition was significantly associated with grief symptoms, such that grandsons who lost a grandmother reported significantly fewer symptoms of grief than all other grandparent/grandchild gender dyads; grandsons who lost a grandfather (B = 0.15, p< .05), granddaughters who lost a grandmother (B = 0.23, p<.01), and granddaughters who lost a grandfather (B = 0.15, p<.05) all reported significantly higher grief. Additionally, worry about bereaved middle-generation parents was associated with significantly greater grief symptoms among adult grandchildren (B = 0.05, p<.05). Positive relationship quality with the middle-generation parent (B = 0.06, p = .45), middle-generation parents’ gender (B = −0.03, p = .63), and coresidence with the middle-generation parent (B = −0.06, p = .39) were not significantly associated with grief symptoms.

Table 2.

Predictors of Grief Symptoms Following the Death of a Grandparent in Adulthood

Model 1
 Model 2
 Model 3
 Model 4
Variable B (SE) B (SE) B (SE) B (SE)
Grandparent-grandchild gender composition
 Grandson lost grandfathera 0.15* (0.07) 0.15* (0.07) 0.15* (0.07) 0.15* (0.07)
 Granddaughter lost grandmothera 0 23** (0.07) 0.24*** (0.07) 0.23** (0.07) 0.23*** (0.06)
 Granddaughter lost grandfathera 0.15* (0.07) 0.16* (0.07) 0.15* (0.07) 0.15* (0.07)
Relationship with middle-generation parent
 Middle-generation parent is father −0.03 (0.05) −0.03 (0.05) −0.03 (0.05) −0.04 (0.05)
 Coresides with parent −0.06 (0.07) −0.06 (0.07) −0.06 (0.07) −0.06 (0.07)
 Positive relationship qualityb 0.06 (0.08) −0.01 (0.10) 0.07 (0.08) 0.06 (0.07)
  × Middle-generation parent is father — — 0.16 (0.15) — — — —
  × Coresides with parent — — — — −0.04 (0.17) — —
 Worry about parentc 0.05* (0.02) 011*** (0.03) 0.02 (0.03) 0.07* (0.03)
  × Middle-generation parent is father — — −0.12** (0.04) — — −0.10* (0.04)
  × Coresides with parent — — — — 0.11* (0.05) 0.10* (0.05)
Model fit
 Level 3 variance 0.03 (0.02) 0.02 (0.02) 0.03 (0.02) 0.03 (0.02)
 Level 2 variance 0.04 (0.03) 0.03 (0.03) 0.03 (0.03) 0.02 (0.03)
 Level 1 variance 0.05* (0.02) 0.05 (0.03) 0.05* (0.02) 0.05* (0.03)
 Wald χ2 (df) 81.51 (19)*** 95.00 (21)*** 88.99 (21)*** 98.88 (21)***
Open in a new tab

Notes. Reports on 216 deceased grandparents by 204 adult grandchild participants (from 142 families). Grief symptoms were transformed. Models were estimated with a three-level structure of observations nested within individuals nested within families.All models controlled for participants’ age, race/ethnicity, education (years), employment status, student status, marital status, parental status, self-rated health, depressive symptoms, neuroticism, time since loss (years), and how long the grandchild knew the grandparent was dying.

a

Reference group = grandsons who lost grandmothers.

b

Mean of two items rated 1 (not at all) to 5 (a great deal); transformed and mean-centered for analysis.

c

Rated 1 (not at all) to 5 (a great deal); mean-centered for analysis.

*

p <.05.

**

p <.01.

***

p <.001.

Model 2 incorporated two interaction terms concerning emotional aspects of the relationship with middle-generation parents and middle-generation parents’ gender. The main effect of worry about the bereaved middle-generation parent indicated that worry was significantly associated with greater grief symptoms (B = 0.11, p<.001) when that parent was a mother. A significant negative interaction term between worry about bereaved middle-generation parent and parent gender (B = −0.12, p<.01) indicated that worry was not associated with grief symptoms when the middle-generation parent was a father. Neither the main effect (B = −0.01, p = .89) nor the interaction effect (B = 0.16, p= .29) concerning positive relationship quality was significant. No other significant results of interest were changed from Model 1.

Model 3 added interaction terms concerning emotional aspects of the relationship with middle-generation parents and coresidence with middle-generation parents to Model 1. The main effect of worry about the bereaved middle-generation parent indicated that worry was not significantly associated with grief symptoms (B = 0.02, p = .41) when adult grandchildren did not coreside with that parent. A significant positive interaction term between worry about bereaved middle-generation parent and coresidence with that parent (B = 0.11, p<.05) indicated that worry was significantly associated with greater grief symptoms when adult grandchildren were coresident with their bereaved middle-generation parent. Neither the main effect (B = 0.07, p = .40) nor the interaction effect (B = −0.04, p = .81) concerning positive relationship quality was significant. Again, no other significant results of interest were changed from Model 1.

Model 4 simultaneously added the two significant interaction terms detected in Models 2 and 3 to Model 1. The main effect of worry about the bereaved middle-generation parent indicated that worry was significantly associated with greater grief symptoms (B = 0.07, p<.05) when that parent was a non-coresident mother. The significant negative interaction term between worry about bereaved middle-generation parent and parent gender (B = −0.10, p<.05) confirmed that the association between worry about the middle-generation parent and grandchildren’s grief symptoms was significantly weaker when the middle-generation parent was a father. The significant positive interaction term between worry about bereaved middle-generation parent and coresidence with that parent (B = 0.10, p<.05) confirmed that the association between worry about the middle-generation parent and grandchildren’s grief symptoms was significantly stronger when adult grandchildren coresided with their bereaved middle-generation parent.

No other significant results of interest were changed from Model 2 or Model 3. A supplemental analysis (not shown) added the non-significant interactions between positive relationship quality with middle-generation parent and both (a) parent’s gender and (b) coresidence with parent to Model 4; these interaction effects remained non-significant, and did not alter any significant coefficients of interest in the final model presented here. Taken together, these results suggest that emotional aspects of bereaved grandchildren’s relationships with their bereaved middle-generation parents may influence their grief symptoms, though these effects are contingent both on parent’s gender and coresidence with that parent.

Discussion

The shared lives between grandparents and grandchildren now commonly span over decades, with many grandparents actively participating in their grandchildren’s lives (Carr & Utz, 2020; Kemp, 2005; Silverstein & Marenco, 2001). Even without frequent personal interactions, grandchildren often view their grandparents as role models and a source of unconditional support (Block, 2000; Goodsell et al., 2011). The death of a grandparent is thus a significant loss that affects all living family members, and for many adult grandchildren it is the first death of someone whom they have known for the entirety of their lives (Manoogian et al., 2018; Umberson, 2003). However, little attention has been paid to adult grandchildren’s reactions to grandparent death, namely whether their grief reactions may be subject to individual and family characteristics. This study found that the level of adult grandchildren’s grief symptoms varied according to gender dyads, and it was heightened when grandchildren worried about their bereaved middle-generation parent. Moreover, worry about a middle-generation parent was particularly impactful when adult grandchildren were coresiding with that parent, and when that parent was a mother.

Effects of Gender

Findings on how the gender of the deceased and the bereaved are associated with grief symptoms remain inconclusive in bereavement literature (Marks et al., 2007; Stokes, 2016a, 2016b; Umberson & Chen, 1994). Whether the gender of the grandparent and/or the grandchild has any impact on the characteristics and quality of their relationships also remains undetermined (Block, 2000; Silverstein & Long, 1998). We found that grandsons generally reported fewer symptoms of grief than granddaughters, which is in line with prior studies on parental death that found loss experiences to affect women more strongly than men (e.g., Carver et al., 2014; Leopold & Lechner, 2015). The gender gap in grief symptoms may indicate how men and women were socialized to experience and express different emotions during the grief process (Carver et al., 2014), or how men and women express grief symptoms in different manners (Marks et al., 2007). We also found that the levels of grief symptoms varied across different gender constellations, with granddaughters who lost grandmothers reporting the greatest grief symptoms, followed by granddaughter–grandfather, grandson–grandfather, and grandson–grandmother dyads, respectively. Considering that the degree of grief reactions could mirror the bereaved individuals’ relationship with the deceased (Umberson & Chen, 1994), the finding is consistent with adult grandchildren relating more with the grandparent of the same gender (e.g., granddaughter–grandmother, grandson–grandfather; Dubas, 2001; Goodsell et al., 2011). It is interesting to note that this study did not find a grandmother’s death to have a stronger impact than a grandfather’s overall, which is contrary to the conceptual framework that predicts salience of grandmothers’ ties to grandchildren over grandfathers’ (Dubas, 2001; Geurts et al., 2009).

Role of the Middle-Generation Parent

Throughout life, middle-generation parents play a pivotal role in shaping the relationship dynamics between grandparents and grandchildren (Bengtson, 2001; Fingerman, 2004). For instance, grandparent–grandchild ties depend on the middle-generation parents’ marital status and their involvement in the kin network (Geurts et al., 2009; Kemp, 2007), as well as the quality of each generation’s tie to the middle-generation parents (Monserud, 2008). In this study, we specifically explored the role of middle-generation parent’s gender and their coresidence with bereaved adult grandchildren as predictors of grief symptoms. Contrary to our expectations, however, neither factor had an overall effect on adult grandchildren’s grief responses; maternal grandparent losses did not lead to greater grief symptoms than paternal grandparent losses, and the death of a coresident parent’s own mother or father did not indicate stronger grief reactions than the death of a non-coresident parent’s mother or father.

In addition to such structural aspects of the relationship between adult grandchildren and their middle-generation parents, we also examined adult grandchildren’s positive relationship quality with and worry about their middle-generation parents as predictors of grief symptoms. Our findings are in line with the literature that identifies interconnectedness between the family members’ grief experiences (Abeles et al., 2004; Manoogian et al., 2018). Interestingly, positive relationship quality with a bereaved middle-generation parent was not associated with adult grandchildren’s grief symptoms. This may reflect the fact that adult grandchildren are able to form independent ties with their grandparents, as the need for the middle-generation parent’s mediation decreases with age (Monserud, 2011; Silverstein & Long, 1998). Moreover, positive relationship quality between middle-generation parents and adult grandchildren may be an imperfect proxy for relationship quality between adult grandchildren and their grandparents, or between middle-generation parents and their own parents; that is, parents and adult children may have high-quality relationships in the presence or the absence of close relationships between the eldest generation and the middle or youngest generations.

In contrast, higher levels of worry about the middle-generation parent were associated with greater grief symptoms, underscoring that for some adult grandchildren, their worries about how the middle-generation parent is coping with the loss may lead to experiencing more grief symptoms themselves (Manoogian et al., 2018). Indeed, that worry about a parent was an especially strong predictor of grief symptoms among adult grandchildren who coresided with their bereaved parent suggests that grief may be shared or transmitted across generations. However, worry about a middle-generation parent after loss may be due to reasons other than that parent’s grief symptoms per se, such as the parent’s mental or physical health, their self-care, or other behaviors. Moreover, this worry reflects adult grandchildren’s perceptions of their middle-generation parent’s grief, coping, and/or well-being, and may thus also reflect adult grandchildren’s own coping processes and characteristics in addition to their parent’s grief or behaviors. Similarly, reverse causality is also possible in this case, wherein the death of the grandparent itself is challenging for the adult grandchildren, leading to higher levels of worry about how their own middle-generation parent is experiencing the loss. Irrespective of the specific cause of such worry, however, it appears that this added stressor may heighten adult grandchildren’s grief symptoms following the loss of a grandparent.

Structural and Emotional Aspects of the Parent–Child Relationship

Although gender of middle-generation parents and coresidence of adult grandchildren with their middle-generation parents had no direct effects on the adult grandchildren’s grief symptoms, these both mattered as contextual factors. First, findings revealed that the association between adult grandchildren’s worry about the middle-generation parent and their grief symptoms was contingent on the middle-generation parent being a mother, regardless of the adult grandchildren’s or the deceased grandparent’s gender. Following the death of a grandparent, middle-generation mothers may experience more intense and emotional symptoms of grief than middle-generation fathers, thereby inducing more worry in adult grandchildren (Carver et al., 2014; Leopold & Lechner, 2015). The influence of worry about a middle-generation mother may also be a proxy for the salience of mother–child ties, where adult grandchildren’s closeness to their middle-generation mothers leads to heightened grief symptoms after the death of a maternal grandparent, when a bereaved mother’s grief response leads adult children to worry about them (Stokes, 2016b). This is in keeping with prior research on death of a parent, which found relationships with mothers influential for depressive symptoms after loss, but not relationships with fathers (Stokes, 2016b). The present findings also support the kinkeeper perspective, which emphasizes the central role of women in maintaining broad kin networks (Brown & DeRycke, 2010; Rosenthal, 1985). Adult grandchildren may thus be particularly sensitive to grandparent loss and its effects on those around them, when it is their own mothers who are most directly or visibly affected (Chan & Elder Jr., 2000; Geurts et al., 2009).

Secondly, living with the middle-generation parent also intensified the effect adult grandchildren’s worry had on their grief symptoms. Coresidence indicates a level of functional closeness, where the adult grandchildren have more opportunities to be exposed to their middle-generation parent’s grief on a daily basis. Although the information on the middle-generation parent’s grief symptoms was not available, it seems likely that being physically close to the middle-generation parent influences the level of adult grandchildren’s grief symptoms after grandparent death at least in part due to bereaved middle-generation parents’ own grief responses, and their visibility to potentially worried adult grandchildren (e.g., Monin et al., 2017). Thus, although middle-generation parents’ gender and coresidence were not significantly associated with adult grandchildren’s grief symptoms on average, they were of critical importance in determining under what circumstances adult grandchildren’s worry about their bereaved parents led to experiencing greater grief symptoms themselves.

Summary of the Major Findings

In sum, this study found evidence for linkage between various components of family relationships and adult grandchildren’s responses to the death of a grandparent. We found that the level of grief symptoms varied with the gender of the adult grandchildren and the deceased grandparent, with grandsons who lost a grandmother reporting fewer grief symptoms than all other gender combinations. Some aspects of adult grandchildren’s ties to their own middle-generation parent also mattered. Adult grandchildren’s level of worry about the middle-generation parent was associated with significantly higher grief symptoms, and this effect was intensified when the middle-generation parent was a mother and/or coresident. The findings suggest that adult grandchildren’s grief depends on factors that constitute intergenerational solidarity between the living family members and underscore that grief is a shared experience within multigenerational families. We also found evidence for the primacy of matrilineal ties, although the order of events (e.g., adult grandchildren closer to their maternal grandparents pre-loss vs. adult grandchildren affected by middle-generation mothers distressed by the death of a grandparent) remains to be explored in future research.

Limitations and Future Research

The present study has several limitations. First, this study has a relatively small sample size that is not representative of the diversity in family relationships. The structure and quality of grandparent–grandchild ties vary significantly by race/ethnicity, for example, in their activities (e.g., Silverstein & Marenco, 2001), odds of coresidence (e.g., Luo et al., 2012), and beliefs (e.g., Yancura, 2013). Given that the conditions of the relationship with the deceased affect individuals’ grief (Manoogian et al., 2018; Umberson & Chen, 1994), future studies should expand their sample to capture a wider range of intergenerational ties. Furthermore, the dependent variable included items concerning both common grief and complicated grief. Although a factor analysis confirmed that all eight items loaded onto a single construct, sensitivity analyses were performed that separated out these two subscales as distinct dependent measures (available upon request). These sensitivity analyses produced findings that were substantively similar to those presented here, with some minor differences: Specifically, two of the three grandparent–grandchild gender combinations were attenuated to trend-level significance (p<.10) in models concerning common grief, whereas the interaction between worry about a middle-generation parent and coresidence with that parent was no longer significant in models concerning complicated grief. All other significant findings of interest were unchanged from those presented here. Additional research is needed to determine the extent to which adult grandchildren experience symptoms of complicated grief in particular following loss, and under what circumstances.

This study also lacks information on the history of the relationship between the three generations. Although we incorporated some aspects of the death (e.g., how long before participants knew of the death) and family structure (e.g., coresidence with the middle-generation parent), other information on the grandparents’ relationship with the middle-generation parent or grandparents’ relationship with the adult grandchildren was not available. A more detailed history of the interrelationships between family members is especially important to fully analyze bereavement at a family level. Finally, data were taken from adult grandchildren’s reports; adult grandchildren’s level of worry about their middle-generation parent is presumed to reflect the parent’s grief to some extent, but parents’ grief symptoms themselves were not directly measured. Indeed, worry could be based on issues entirely apart from middle-generation parents’ grief, or may even reflect grandchildren’s own perceptions that do not align with middle-generation parents’ own reports or perceptions. In light of our findings, future research should examine contemporaneous reports from multiple generations, in order to better determine the mechanisms at play.

Conclusion

The present study contributes to the burgeoning literature on adult grandchildren’s ties with their grandparents by examining the relatively unexplored topic of adult grandchildren’s grief experiences following the death of a grandparent. Granddaughters reported higher grief symptoms than grandsons, and grandsons who lost a grandmother reported the fewest grief symptoms of all. Moreover, higher levels of worry about a bereaved middle-generation parent were associated with higher grief symptoms among bereaved adult grandchildren themselves. Furthermore, this association varied according to both coresidence with a bereaved middle-generation parent and the gender of that parent. This study offers evidence for the presence of intergenerational solidarity following the death of a grandparent, as well as the salience of adult grandchildren’s ties to middle-generation parents in predicting their levels of grief.

Acknowledgments

This work was supported by grants from the National Institute on Aging (NIA), R01AG027769, “Family Exchanges Study II” and “Psychology of Intergenerational Transfers” (Karen L. Fingerman, Principal Investigator) and R03AG048879, “Generational Family Patterns and Well-Being” (Kyungmin Kim, Principal Investigator). This research also was supported by grant, 5 R24 HD042849, awarded to the Population Research Center (PRC) at The University of Texas at Austin by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD).

Contributor Information

Jeffrey E. Stokes, University of Massachusetts Boston

Yijung K. Kim, The University of Texas at Austin*

Kyungmin Kim, University of Massachusetts Boston**.

Karen L. Fingerman, The University of Texas at Austin***

References

  1. Abeles N, Victor TL, & Delano-Wood L (2004). The impact of an older adult’s death on the family. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 35, 234–239. 10.1037/0735-7028.35.3.234 [DOI] [Google Scholar]
  2. Bengtson VL (2001). Beyond the nuclear family: The increasing importance of multigenerational bonds: The burgess award lecture. Journal of Marriage and Family, 63, 1–16. 10.1111/j.1741-3737.2001.00001.x [DOI] [Google Scholar]
  3. Birditt KS, Fingerman KL, & Zarit SH (2010). Adult children’s problems and successes: Implications for intergenerational ambivalence. The Journals of Gerontology, Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 65, 145–153. 10.1093/geronb/gbp125 [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Birditt KS, Tighe LA, Fingerman KL, & Zarit SH (2012). Intergenerational relationship quality across three generations. The Journals of Gerontology, Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 67, 627–638. 10.1093/geronb/gbs050 [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Block CE (2000). Dyadic and gender differences in perceptions of the grandparent-grandchild relationship. The International Journal of Aging and Human Development, 51, 85–104. 10.2190/VKCU-GN6A-27MU-4867 [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Bowen M (2004). Family reaction to death. In Walsh F & McGoldrick M (Eds.), Living beyond loss: Death in the family (pp. 47–60). W.W.Norton & Company. [Google Scholar]
  7. Brown LH (2003). Intergenerational influences on perceptions of current relationships with grandparents. Journal of Intergenerational Relationships, 1, 95–112. 10.1300/J194v01n01_09 [DOI] [Google Scholar]
  8. Brown LH, & DeRycke SB (2010). The kinkeeping connection: Continuity, crisis and consensus. Journal of Intergenerational Relationships, 8, 338–353. 10.1080/15350770.2010.520616 [DOI] [Google Scholar]
  9. Carr D, House JS, Kessler RC, Nesse RM, Sonnega J, & Wortman C (2000). Marital quality and psychological adjustment to widowhood among older adults: A longitudinal analysis. The Journals of Gerontology, Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 55, S197–S207. 10.1093/geronb/55.4.S197 [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Carr D, House JS, Wortman C, Nesse R, & Kessler RC (2001). Psychological adjustment to sudden and anticipated spousal loss among older widowed persons. The Journals of Gerontology, Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 56, S237–S248. 10.1093/geronb/56.4.S237 [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Carr D, & Utz RL (2020). Families in later life: A decade in review. Journal of Marriage and Family, 82, 346–363. 10.1111/jomf.12609 [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Carver KS, Hayslip B, Gilley A, & Watts J (2014). Influences on grief among parentally bereaved adults. Journal of Death and Dying, 69, 105–116. 10.2190/OM.69.2.a [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Chan CG, & Elder GH Jr. (2000). Matrilineal advantage in grandchild-grandparent relations. The Gerontologist, 40, 179–190. 10.1093/geront/40.2.179 [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Derogatis LR (2001). Brief symptom inventory 18: Administration, scoring and procedure manual. NCS Pearson. [Google Scholar]
  15. Dubas JS (2001). How gender moderates the grandparent-grandchild relationship: A comparison of kin-keeper and kin-selector theories. Journal of Family Issues, 22, 478–492. 10.1177/019251301022004005 [DOI] [Google Scholar]
  16. Fingerman KL (2004). The role of offspring and in-laws in grandparents’ ties to their grandchildren. Journal of Family Issues, 25, 1026–1049. 10.1177/0192513X04265941 [DOI] [Google Scholar]
  17. Fingerman KL (2013). Family exchanges study wave 2, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 2013. Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research; [distributor], 2019–07-31. 10.3886/ICPSR37317.v1 [DOI] [Google Scholar]
  18. Fingerman KL, Cheng Y-P, Tighe L, Birditt KS, & Zarit S (2012). Relationships between young adults and their parents. In Booth A, Brown SL, Landale NS, Manning WD, & McHale SM (Eds.), Early adulthood in a family context (pp. 59–85). New York, NY: Springer. [Google Scholar]
  19. Fingerman KL, Miller LM, Birditt KS, & Zarit SH (2009). Giving to the good and the needy: Parental support of grown children. Journal of Marriage and Family, 71, 1220–1233. 10.1111/j.1741-3737.2009.00665.x [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. Geurts T, Poortman A-R, van Tilburg T, & Dykstra PA (2009). Contact between grandchildren and their grandparents in early adulthood. Journal of Family Issues, 30, 1698–1713. 10.1177/0192513X09336340 [DOI] [Google Scholar]
  21. Goodsell TL, Bates JS, & Behnke AO (2011). Fatherhood stories: Grandparents, grandchildren, and gender differences. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 28, 134–154. 10.1177/0265407510386447 [DOI] [Google Scholar]
  22. Hay EL, Fingerman KL, & Lefkowitz ES (2007). The experience of worry in parent-adult child relationships. Personal Relationships, 14, 605–622. 10.1111/j.1475-6811.2007.00174.x [DOI] [Google Scholar]
  23. Huo M, Kim K, Zarit SH, & Fingerman KL (2018). Support grandparents give to their adult grandchildren. The Journals of Gerontology, Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 73, 1006–1015. 10.1093/geronb/gbw208 [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  24. Kemp CL (2005). Dimensions of grandparent-adult grandchild relationships: From family ties to intergenerational friendships. Canadian Journal on Aging, 24, 161–177. 10.1353/cja.2005.0066 [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  25. Kemp CL (2007). Grandparent-grandchild ties: Reflections on continuity and change across three generations. Journal of Family Issues, 28, 855–881. 10.1177/0192513X07299599 [DOI] [Google Scholar]
  26. Kim Y, Kim K, Boerner K, Birditt KS, Zarit SH, & Fingerman KL (2019). Recent parental death and relationship qualities between midlife adults and their grown children. Journal of Marriage and Family, 81, 616–630. 10.1111/jomf.12549 [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  27. Lachman ME, & Weaver SL (1997). The midlife development inventory (MIDI) personality scales: Scale construction and scoring. Waltham, MA: Brandeis University. [Google Scholar]
  28. Leopold T, & Lechner CM (2015). Parents’ death and adult well-being: Gender, age, and adaptation to filial bereavement. Journal of Marriage and Family, 77, 747–760. 10.1111/jomf.12186 [DOI] [Google Scholar]
  29. Luo Y, LaPierre TA, Hughes ME, & Waite LJ (2012). Grandparents providing care to grandchildren: A population-based study of continuity and change. Journal of Family Issues, 33, 1143–1167. 10.1177/0192513X12438685 [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  30. Manoogian MM, Vandenbroeke J, Ringering A, Toray T, & Cooley E (2018). Emerging adults’ experiences of grandparent death. OMEGA-Journal of Death and Dying, 76, 351–372. 10.1177/0030222817693140 [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  31. Margolis R, & Wright L (2017). Older adults with three generations of kin: Prevalence, correlates, and transfers. The Journals of Gerontology, Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 72, 1067–1072. 10.1093/geronb/gbv158 [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  32. Marks NF, Jun H, & Song J (2007). Death of parents and adult psychological and physical well-being: A prospective US national study. Journal of Family Issues, 28, 1611–1638. 10.1177/0192513X07302728 [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  33. Mills TL, Wakeman MA, & Fea CB (2001). Adult grandchildren’s perceptions of emotional closeness and consensus with their maternal and paternal grandparents. Journal of Family Issues, 22, 427–455. 10.1177/019251301022004003 [DOI] [Google Scholar]
  34. Monin JK, Levy BR, & Kane HS (2017). To love is to suffer: Older adults’ daily emotional contagion to perceived spousal suffering. The Journals of Gerontology, Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 72, 383–387. 10.1093/geronb/gbv070 [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  35. Monserud MA (2008). Intergenerational relationships and affectual solidarity between grandparents and young adults. Journal of Marriage and Family, 70, 182–195. 10.1111/j.1741-3737.2007.00470.x [DOI] [Google Scholar]
  36. Monserud MA (2010a). Continuity and change in grandchildren’s closeness to grandparents: Consequences of changing intergenerational ties. Marriage and Family Review, 46, 366–388. 10.1080/01494929.2010.528320 [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  37. Monserud MA (2010b). Role markers of adulthood and young adults’ ties to grandparents. Journal of Intergenerational Relationships, 8, 38–53. 10.1080/15350770903520650 [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  38. Monserud MA (2011). Changes in grandchildren’s adult role statuses and their relationships with grandparents. Journal of Family Issues, 32, 425–451. 10.1177/0192513X10384466 [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  39. Moorman SM, & Stokes JE (2016). Solidarity in the grandparent-adult grandchild relationship and trajectoriesofdepressivesymptoms.TheGerontologist, 56, 408–420. 10.1093/geront/gnu056 [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  40. Prigerson HG, Maciejewski PK, Reynolds CF, Bierhals AJ, Newsom JT, Fasiczka A, … Miller M (1995). Inventory of complicated grief: A scale to measure maladaptive symptoms of loss. Psychiatry Research, 59, 65–79. 10.1016/0165-1781(95)02757-2 [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  41. Reitzes DC, & Mutran EJ (2004). Grandparent identity, intergenerational family identity, and well-being. The Journals of Gerontology, Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 59, S213–S219. 10.1093/geronb/59.1.S9 [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  42. Rosenthal CJ (1985). Kinkeeping in the familial division of labor. Journal of Marriage and Family, 47, 965–974. 10.2307/352340 [DOI] [Google Scholar]
  43. Silverstein M, & Long JD (1998). Trajectories of grandparents’ perceived solidarity with adult grandchildren: A growth curve analysis over 23 years. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 60, 912–923. 10.2307/353634 [DOI] [Google Scholar]
  44. Silverstein M, & Marenco A (2001). How Americans enact the grandparent role across the family life course. Journal of Family Issues, 22, 493–522. 10.1177/019251301022004006 [DOI] [Google Scholar]
  45. Stokes JE (2016a). The influence of intergenerational relationships on marital quality following thedeathofaparentinadulthood.JournalofSocial and Personal Relationships, 33, 3–22. 10.1177/0265407514558962 [DOI] [Google Scholar]
  46. Stokes JE (2016b). Surviving parents’ influence on adult children’s depressive symptoms following the death of a first parent. Journal of Applied Gerontology, 35, 1015–1035. 10.1177/0733464814558876 [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  47. Stroebe M, Schut H, & Stroebe W (2007). Health outcomes of bereavement. The Lancet Infectious Diseases, 370, 1960–1973. 10.1016/S0140-6736(07)61716-9 [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  48. Umberson D (1992). Relationships between adult children and their parents: Psychological consequences for both generations. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 54, 664–674. 10.2307/353252 [DOI] [Google Scholar]
  49. Umberson D (2003). Death of a parent: Transition to a new adult identity. Cambridge University Press. [Google Scholar]
  50. Umberson D, & Chen M (1994). Effects of a parent’s death on adult children: Relationship salience and reaction to loss. American Sociological Review, 59, 152–168. 10.2307/209613 [DOI] [Google Scholar]
  51. Van Gaalen RI, & Dykstra PA (2006). Solidarity and conflict between adult children and parents: A latent class analysis. Journal of Marriage and Family, 68, 947–960. 10.1111/j.1741-3737.2006.00306.x [DOI] [Google Scholar]
  52. White LK, & Rogers SJ (1997). Strong support but uneasy relationships: Coresidence and adult children’s relationships with their parents. Journal ofMarriageand Family,59, 62–76. 10.2307/353662 [DOI] [Google Scholar]
  53. Yancura LA (2013). Justifications for caregiving in White, Asian American, and native Hawaiian grandparents raising grandchildren. The Journals of Gerontology, Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 68, 139–144. 10.1093/geronb/gbs098 [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

RESOURCES