Solidarity With Grandchildren, Self‐Esteem, and Relationship Status Among Grandparents During the
COVID
‐19 Pandemic
Woosang Hwang, Narges Hadi, Seonhwa Lee, Maria T. Brown, Merril Silverstein ABSTRACT
Objective
We aimed to identify distinct profiles of intergenerational solidarity with grandchildren among grandparents and to examine whether these profiles were associated with grandparents' self‐esteem during the COVID‐19 pandemic. In addition, we investigated the moderating role of grandparents' relationship status (partnered vs. unpartnered) in the above association.
Background
While a close relationship between grandparents and grandchildren enhances grandparents' psychological well‐being, there is limited insight into whether intergenerational solidarity profiles were linked to self‐esteem during the COVID‐19 pandemic.
Method
Using the Longitudinal Study of Generations (LSOG) 2022 Survey, we conducted latent profile analysis to identify profiles of intergenerational solidarity with grandchildren among 480 grandparents.
Results
We identified the four latent profiles: Social , Detached , Tight‐Knit , and Living Together . We found that grandparents who had Social or Tight‐Knit relationships with grandchildren reported greater self‐esteem than those who had a Detached relationship with grandchildren. Furthermore, unpartnered grandparents reported lower self‐esteem than partnered grandparents when they had a Detached relationship with their grandchildren.
Conclusion
Intergenerational solidarity with grandchildren among unpartnered grandparents would be an important factor affecting grandparents' self‐esteem during the COVID‐19 pandemic.
Implications
Understanding distinct profiles of intergenerational solidarity with grandchildren would be necessary for enhancing the healthy aging of grandparents.