Grandparents’ Professional and Educational Activity: A Positive or Negative Impact on Relationships with Grandchildren?

Dorota Kwiatkowska-Ciotucha (), Alicja Grześkowiak, Urszula Załuska and Piotr Peternek
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Dorota Kwiatkowska-Ciotucha: Department of Logistics, Wroclaw University of Economics and Business, 53-345 Wrocław, Poland
Alicja Grześkowiak: Department of Econometrics and Operational Research, Wroclaw University of Economics and Business, 53 345 Wrocław, Poland
Urszula Załuska: Department of Logistics, Wroclaw University of Economics and Business, 53-345 Wrocław, Poland
Piotr Peternek: Department of Econometrics and Operational Research, Wroclaw University of Economics and Business, 53 345 Wrocław, Poland

IJERPH, 2023, vol. 20, issue 3, 1-16

Abstract: ‘Baby boomers’ are the first generation whose representatives—both male and female—are, to a great extent, or plan to be, professionally active in their old age. Increased professional activity of this group influences family relations and the perception of the roles of grandmothers and grandfathers. This article attempts to assess the impact of grandparents’ professional and educational activity on relationships with grandchildren. The study relies on data from an international comparative survey conducted using the CAWI method in representative groups of Internet users from seven European countries and a proprietary questionnaire. The study was conducted in May 2022, and the total research sample included 3008 people. The analysis covered answers to the questions on the perceived impact of grandparents’ activity on the performance of family roles. To analyze the results, tests of the equality of means ( t -test, ANOVA) were used to check for differences in assessments due to respondents’ characteristics. The use of exploratory factor analysis made it possible to distinguish two groups of factors—those having a positive impact on the relationship with grandchildren and those having a negative one. The SEM (structural equation modeling) model was used to find an answer to the question of which factor—positive or negative—has a greater impact on trust in grandparents as carers. The results of the conducted analyses indicated the existence of statistically significant differences in the perception of the role of grandmothers and grandfathers due to such characteristics of the respondents as age, gender, or country of residence. It is possible to conclude that positive perceptions of grandparents’ professional and educational activity encourage greater confidence in them in the context of performing family roles.

Keywords: working grandparents; family relations; quantitative research; comparative analysis; statistical analysis of survey results; factor analysis; SEM (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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