Abstract
This pilot study examined the meaning attributed to the grandparent role by grandparents and grandchildren of healthy and demented elderly persons. Forty community-dwelling grandparents (28 healthy and 12 diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease) and their grandchildren were interviewed about perceptions regarding aspects of the grandparent role. Less importance was attributed to the attitudinal and behavioral aspects by demented grandparents and their grandchildren. No differences were found in the symbolic and emotional aspects. Higher concordance was found between the scores reported by healthy grandparents and their grandchildren than for demented grandparents and their grandchildren. Geographical closeness was associated to the meaning attributed to the role by the healthy group. Quality of the relationship was associated to higher scores in the behavioral aspect. Clinical implications are discussed.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 115-129 |
| Number of pages | 15 |
| Journal | Clinical Gerontologist |
| Volume | 23 |
| Issue number | 1-2 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - 2001 |
Keywords
- Dementia
- Grandparenthood
- Intergenerational relations
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Social Psychology
- Health(social science)
- Clinical Psychology
- Gerontology
- Geriatrics and Gerontology