A Historical-Contextual Perspective on Grandparents’ Activities With Grandchildren

Chair(s)

• 

  Jill Juris, PhD (she/her/hers)

  Assistant Professor
  Recreation Management and Physical Education
  Appalachian State University
  Boone, North Carolina, United States

Discussant(s)

• 

  Amy Rauer, PhD

  Professor
  Child and Family Studies
  University of Tennessee
  Knoxville, Tennessee, United States

Individual Symposium Abstract First Author(s)

• SF

  Sarah Flood, PhD (she/her/hers)

  Director Of Life Course Center
  ISRDI
  University of Minnesota
  Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States
• 

  Abigail Stephan, PhD, CFLE (she/her/hers)

  Research Assistant Professor
  Institute for Engaged Aging
  Clemson University
  Clemson, South Carolina, United States

  Slides
• 

  Jill Juris, PhD (she/her/hers)

  Assistant Professor
  Recreation Management and Physical Education
  Appalachian State University
  Boone, North Carolina, United States
• 

  Christine Fruhauf, PhD, FGSA, FAGHE (she/her/hers)

  Professor
  Human Development and Family Studies
  Colorado State University
  Fort Collins, Colorado, United States

  Slides

Grandparenting is one of the most positive roles for many older adults, yet there is limited understanding of what activities grandparents and grandchildren actually engage in together or how these may vary based on both context (e.g., residential grandparenthood, grandparents’ marriage) and historical events (e.g., COVID-19). Drawing from multiple theoretical frameworks and methodological approaches, this symposium begins with Flood providing a broad view of time grandparents and grandchildren spend together using large-scale population-level data from IPUMS. Illustrating how such activities may vary based on context, Stephan and Chan provide insights into how activity engagement varies by caregiver status and whether activity engagement with grandchildren is related to grandparents’ perceived roles. Extending this examination of context to consider specific processes, Juris and Zvonkovic will then describe the process of family leisure among grandparent couples by examining how both individuals in a couple experience family leisure with their grandchildren. Providing a historical perspective on these experiences, Fruhauf and colleagues reveal the challenges of raising grandchildren in the context of COVID-19 and the importance of engaging in different and new activities with their grandchildren during this time. Finally, as discussant, Rauer will draw upon Bronfenbrenner’s socioecological framework to illustrate how grandparenting is situated within a complex network of interdependent systems and dynamic contexts. Together, this symposium will highlight the implications of grandparenting for catalyzing development and enhancing well-being across multiple generations.

Presentations:

• 8:00 AM – 9:30 AM ET

  Large-Scale Population-Level Data for Studying Grandparenting in the United States
  

  Individual Symposium Abstract First Author: Sarah Flood, PhD (she/her/hers) – University of Minnesota
• 8:00 AM – 9:30 AM ET

  Grandparents' Activity Engagement With Grandchildren as a Function of Caregiver Status
  

  Individual Symposium Abstract First Author: Abigail T. Stephan, PhD, CFLE (she/her/hers) – Clemson University
• 8:00 AM – 9:30 AM ET

  How Grandparent Couples Engage in Family Leisure With Grandchildren
  

  Individual Symposium Abstract First Author: Jill Juris, PhD (she/her/hers) – Appalachian State University
• 8:00 AM – 9:30 AM ET

  "Expect the Unexpected": Custodial Grandparents' Perspectives on Raising Grandchildren During COVID-19
  

  Individual Symposium Abstract First Author: Christine A. Fruhauf, PhD, FGSA, FAGHE (she/her/hers) – Colorado State University