The impact of grandparents on the lives of their grandchildren is multifaceted, but emerging research indicates that providing such care may also yield advantages for seniors themselves.
Flavia Chereches, a doctoral candidate at Tilburg University in the Netherlands and the study’s principal investigator, notes that “A significant number of grandparents actively participate in the regular upbringing of their grandchildren, a role that provides invaluable support to families and contributes broadly to societal well-being.”
“A pertinent question that remains is whether the act of caring for grandchildren might also confer benefits upon the grandparents. Our investigation aimed to ascertain if engaging in grandchild care could positively influence grandparents’ health trajectories, potentially moderating the pace of cognitive decline.”
Chereches and her research associates conducted an analysis of data encompassing close to 3,000 grandparents, originally gathered as part of the English Longitudinal Study of Aging.
From 2016 to 2022, participants, all exceeding the age of 50, completed questionnaires detailing their involvement in caregiving for grandchildren, specifying the frequency and nature of their responsibilities. Throughout this period, they also underwent cognitive assessments on three separate occasions.
Grandparents who were actively involved in their grandchildren’s upbringing demonstrated superior performance in assessments of verbal fluency and episodic memory when contrasted with those who had a more limited role in their grandchildren’s lives.
Specifically for grandmothers who provided care, the findings revealed a diminished rate of cognitive deterioration over the study’s duration, compared to their counterparts who were not actively engaged in caregiving.
Although the study did not differentiate between younger and older grandparents, no substantial disparities were observed based on the frequency of caregiving: any level of engagement appeared to elicit a comparable outcome.
Grandparents exhibiting a comparatively robust baseline level of cognitive ability at the study’s commencement were more inclined to participate in activities such as playing with their grandchildren and assisting with academic tasks, and generally engaged in a broader spectrum of activities.
It is plausible that this inherent capacity could, at least partially, account for the observed trend: older adults who commence with greater mental acuity are likely to be more amenable to participating in their grandchildren’s lives across the board.
Chereches states, “The role of a caregiving grandparent seemed to exert a greater influence on cognitive functioning than the frequency of care provided or the specific activities undertaken with grandchildren.” Nevertheless, she underscores the necessity for further research to explore whether the specific circumstances of this caregiving might alter the outcomes.
“The effects of providing care voluntarily within a supportive familial context may differ for grandparents compared to situations where caregiving occurs in a more challenging environment, characterized by a lack of support or a perception of the caregiving as involuntary or burdensome,” she elaborates.
The findings of this research have been disseminated in the journal Psychology and Aging.
