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Grandparent Identity, Intergenerational Family Identity, and Well-Being

¹ Department of Sociology, Georgia State University, Atlanta, Georgia.
² Institute on Aging, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

Address correspondence to Dr. Donald C. Reitzes, Department of Sociology, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA 30303. E-mail: socdcr{at}langate.gsu.edu

Objectives. A new grandparent identity measure is constructed that allows us to compare grandparent identity meanings with the meanings of other adult identities and to investigate the relationships between identities and well-being.

Methods. Data were collected in 1997 from 203 older grandmothers and grandfathers living in a metropolitan area. Grandparent and parent identity meanings are measured with an introductory identifier focusing attention on being a grandparent or a parent, followed by a set of 10 adjective pairs to capture identity meanings. Intergenerational family identity combined grandparent and parent identity meanings. Self-esteem and depressive symptoms serve as two indicators of well-being.

Results. We find that there are no significant differences between grandparent and parent identity meanings and that men and women are more positive about their grandparent identities than they are about other adult identity meanings. Further, grandparent identity is significantly related to well-being when it is the only identity in the model but not when parent identity is included in another model. Finally, intergenerational family identity is positively related to well-being.

Discussion. The findings confirm the expectation that grandparent identity meanings may encourage well-being. Further, the intergenerational identity reflects the overlapping meanings and experiences of being a parent and a grandparent.