Table 1.
Characteristics of Grandparents by Intensity of Care Provided for Grandchildren.
| Characteristics | Total grandparentsa |
No grandchild care |
Grandchild care 1 to 59 hr per month |
Grandchild care 60+ hr per month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| % (95% CI) | % (95% CI) | % (95% CI) | % (95% CI) | |
| % | 100 | 41.8 [39.6, 42.5] | 50.3 [48.9, 51.8] | 8.6 [7.8, 9.5] |
| Base | 4,536 | 1,821 | 2,234 | 383 |
| Grandchild care hours | ||||
| M (SD) | 16.9 (13.5) | 109.9 (67.3) | ||
| Age | ||||
| M (SD) | 66.8 (9.4) | 70.1 (10.1) | 65.0 (8.2) | 61.8 (7.3) |
| Retirement age | ||||
| <65 | 36.3 [34.8, 37.8] | 26.2 [24.1, 28.5] | 40.6 [38.5, 42.9] | 56.7 [51.2, 62.1] |
| ≥65 | 63.7 [62.2, 65.2] | 73.8 [72.0, 75.9] | 59.4 [57.1, 61.5] | 43.3 [38.0, 48.8] |
| Gender | ||||
| Male | 41.1 [39.7, 42.5] | 40.6 [38.4, 42.9] | 41.7 [39.6, 43.7] | 39.7 [34.9, 44.7] |
| Female | 58.9 [57.5, 60.3] | 59.4 [57.1, 61.6] | 58.3 [56.3, 60.4] | 60.3 [55.3, 65.1] |
| Education | ||||
| Primary | 38.1 [36.7, 39.5] | 40.6 [38.4, 42.9] | 36.7 [34.7, 38.8] | 36.0 [31.4, 41.0] |
| Secondary | 39.4 [38.0, 40.9] | 36.1 [33.9, 38.4] | 40.2 [38.2, 42.3] | 48.0 [43.1, 53.1] |
| Tertiary | 22.5 [21.3, 23.7] | 23.3 [21.4, 25.2] | 23.2 [21.4, 24.9] | 15.9 [12.6, 19.9] |
| Employment | ||||
| Employed | 24.1 [22.9, 25.3] | 18.3 [16.6, 20.2] | 27.8 [25.9, 29.6] | 27.9 [23.7, 32.7] |
| Retired | 45.2 [43.7, 46.6] | 51.9 [49.7, 54.2] | 42.3 [40.3, 44.4] | 30.3 [25.9, 35.1] |
| Other | 30.7 [29.4, 32.1] | 29.7 [27.7, 31.9] | 29.8 [28.0, 31.7] | 37.3 [32.2, 42.8] |
| Income quintile | ||||
| Lowest | 19.9 [18.7, 21.1] | 24.4 [22.5, 26.5] | 17.1 [15.6, 18.7] | 16.4 [13.1, 20.5] |
| 2nd | 23.0 [21.8, 24.2] | 23.7 [21.8, 25.7] | 22.7 [21.0, 24.0] | 23.5 [19.5, 28.0] |
| 3rd | 18.7 [17.6, 19.8] | 18.6 [16.9, 20.5] | 17.5 [16.0, 19.1] | 23.2 [19.3, 27.7] |
| 4th | 20.6 [19.5, 21.8] | 17.4 [15.7, 19.2] | 22.9 [21.2, 24.7] | 20.6 [16.9, 25.0] |
| Highest | 8.2 [7.4, 9.0] | 6.3 [5.3, 7.5] | 9.8 [8.6, 11.1] | 8.6 [6.2, 11.9] |
| Missing | 9.6 [8.8, 10.6] | 9.6 [8.3, 11.0] | 10.1 [8.9, 11.4] | 7.3 [5.1, 10.4] |
| Social/leisure activityb | ||||
| Yes | 88.0 [86.9, 89.4] | 84.2 [82.3, 86.0] | 89.5 [88.0, 90.8] | 90.2 [86.5, 93.0] |
| Family structure | ||||
| Total number of children, M (SD) | 3.9 (1.9) | 4.0 (2.0) | 3.9 (1.8) | 3.8 (1.8) |
| Total number of grandchildren, M (SD) | 5.6 (5.0) | 6.0 (5.6) | 5.5 (4.6) | 4.7 (4.3) |
| Health | ||||
| Depression, CES-D, M (SD) | 6.0 (7.3) | 6.3 (7.2) | 5.8 (7.3) | 6.4 (8.0) |
| Quality of Life, CASP-19,c M (SD) | 44.5 (7.6) | 43.7 (7.8) | 45.1 (7.2) | 44.2 (8.1) |
| Disability | ||||
| No disability | 85.5 [84.4, 86.5] | 80.4 [78.5, 82.2] | 88.7 [87.3, 90.0] | 88.8 [85.2, 91.6] |
| Instrumental activities of daily living | 4.2 [3.6, 4.8] | 6.4 [5.4, 7.6] | 2.6 [2.0, 3.3] | 3.7 [2.2, 6.1] |
| Any activities of daily living | 10.3 [9.4, 11.2] | 13.2 [11.7, 14.8] | 8.7 [7.6, 10.0] | 7.6 [5.3, 10.7] |
Note. CI = confidence interval; CES-D = Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression; CASP-19 = Control, Autonomy, Self-realization, Pleasure.
a
Includes 98 who reported caring for grandchildren but answered not known for number of hours.
b
Any social or leisure activity outside the house in the past week.
c
Quality of life (Control, Autonomy, Self-realization, Pleasure) scale.