Examines differences between rural farm and nonfarm families on the extent and quality of relationships between adolescents and their grandparents, with emphasis on linking relationships. Grandchildren in farm families have more contact with grandparents and rate the quality of their relationship higher, particularly with paternal grandparents.…

Investigated 169 family stories told by 56 families. Found no generational differences in number and types of stories. Parents were considered main source of stories; grandparents were main characters. More male than female characters were used, and themes of personality, work, and family were predominant. Concluded that stories go down into…

This research reports on the significance of grandmotherhood to an area sample of 125 females, most of whom were grandmothers, age 70 or over. The paper describes the development of a typology which was designed to identify, describe, and test four distinct types of grandparenting. (Author)

This article is a sociological analysis of the South Indian Family organization in an urban setting; in particular, it describes the nature of urban kinship ties and attempts to find differences in kinship ties across class and caste lines. (Author/HMV)

Old people are the new pioneers of our era. Their proportion has increased threefold; their status has not. Old people have a safe haven within the family, although this safe harbor is constantly under siege. Family and kinship ties will continue to provide safe harbor for members however long they live. (Author/BEF)

Examines how culture and interactions of family life influence grandparent-grandchild relationships. Results, based on 662 grandparents, show that grandparent involvement with grandchildren is significantly influenced by grandparents having known their own grandparents. Sharing a household with a grandparent made little difference in grandparents'…

Interviewed 114 grandparents who provided daily care to their grandchildren. Found that providing care was associated with changes in grandparents' lifestyle, friendships, family relationships, and marital relationships. Effects differed according to type of care provided: living with grandchildren and having legal responsibility, living with…

Investigated effects of early family experiences on mediating role of parents for grandparent-grandchild relationship. Findings from parents' and ninth graders' reports regarding 1,138 grandparents revealed that recalled nonoptimal parent-child relationships between parents and grandparents negatively affected the contemporary parent-grandparent…

Examined relationship of biological and social fathers to young children's (n=870) well-being. Children in five longitudinal patterns of experiences with coresident adult men in maritally disrupted families were compared to children in intact families. Findings lend support to view that fathers, both biological and social, are peripheral to young…

Reviews research from 1980s focusing on families who are beyond child-rearing years. Sees later-life families as characterized by continuity and changes as they experience marriage, divorce, widowhood, remarriage, childlessness, grandparenthood, sibling relationships, and family caregiving. Suggests areas for future research focusing on…

Examines differences in patterns of social mobility experienced by three generations (grandparents, parents, and children) within the same family lineages. Using data from the Longitudinal Study of Generations, found that each successive generation of offspring has had higher occupational attainment than the one before. However, the rate of upward…

Mother and grandmother attitudes in two and three-generational Taiwanese households were studied. Grandmothers adhered more to traditional childrearing attitudes than their daughters-in-law who adhered more in two-generational households. Widowed grandmothers have less influence on daughter-in-law socialization practices and participate more in…

Explored economic complexities of grandmothers serving as child care providers for their children's offspring. Used longitudinal survey data of employed mothers (N=796) with children under age five. Found grandmothers provided majority of child care for employed mothers, especially if unmarried. Found complex negotiation of work and family roles…