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Objectives: The present study aims to identify distinct types of relationships between grandparents and their adult children, measure the associations between these relationship types and depressive symptoms among grandparents, and determine whether these associations vary by grandparent status. Method: This study uses data from a sample of 1,196 grandparents age 51 and older from the 2014 Health and Retirement Study. Latent class analysis (LCA) is applied and identifies types of grandparent-adult children relationships. Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) regression models are used to estimate the association between relationship types and depressive symptoms by grandparent status. Results: LCA identified four grandparent-adult children relationship types: amicable, ambivalent, detached, and disharmonious. Custodial and co-parenting grandparents were most likely to report having an ambivalent relationship with their adult children. Among co-parenting and custodial grandparents, disharmonious relationships were associated with more depressive symptoms. Conclusion: Interventions are suggested to improve emotional relationships with adult children and dyadic family relationships among grandparent families.

Objectives: This study examined the longitudinal association of depressive symptoms with grandchild care intensity and whether the association varies by household structure, residential area, and gender for Chinese grandparents., Methods: Using data from three waves of the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS, 2011-2015), we applied multilevel mixed effects models to examine changes in depressive symptoms and the associations with caregiving intensity and to test the moderation effects of residence, living arrangement, and gender., Results: After controlling for sociodemographic and health covariates, we found that providing a medium level of grandchild care was associated with fewer baseline depressive symptoms compared with non-caregivers. Providing low-level care among those living with spouse/partner and among those living with child(ren)/others was associated with fewer depressive symptoms relative to non-caregivers with similar living arrangements., Conclusion: Findings indicate that a medium level of involvement in childcare was associated with better mental wellness and low levels of caregiving may benefit nonresidential caregivers. More prospective longitudinal studies are needed to improve the operationalization of grandparent caregiving, validate the associated health outcomes, and apply a contextual approach to examine socioeconomic, cultural, and policy-related contexts of caregiving in the changing world of China.

Guided by a convoy model of social relations, this study investigates the relationships between grandparenting status, social relations, and mortality among community-dwelling grandparents age 65 and older who are caring for their grandchildren. The data were drawn from the 2008 and 2016 waves of the Health and Retirement Study ( N = 564). Latent class analysis was used to identify the social network structure based on six indicators of interpersonal relationships and activities. A series of hierarchical Weibull hazard models estimated the associations between grandparent caregiving, social relations, and mortality risk. Results of survival analyses indicate that co-parenting and custodial grandparents had higher all-cause mortality risk than grandparents who babysat occasionally; however, for custodial grandparents, the association was not significant once social relation variables were added to the model. This study suggests that community-based support may be beneficial to older grandparents and improved relationship quality is integral to the well-being of older adults.

Guided by a stress-buffering model, this study examined the effect of the caregiver stress on depressive symptoms, specifically the moderating effects of social support and volunteering on the relationship between stress and depressive symptoms among grandparent caregivers. The 2010 Health and Retirement Survey included a sample of 1,973 grandparent caregivers who reported their stress scores. Findings suggest that positive social support and volunteering significantly moderated the relationship between stress and depressive symptoms. In particular, the study revealed that perceived quality of relations may help grandparent caregivers cope with their ongoing stress and enlarged social interaction may buffer the increase of negative stressor outcomes., (© The Author(s) 2016.)