Grandfather Involvement in Finland: Impact of Divorce, Remarriage, and Widowhood

Abstract

While divorce and remarriage are known to influence family relations, few studies have explored grandfathers’ involvement with their grandchildren following marital disruption. In this chapter we investigate whether the involvement of widowed, divorced, or remarried grandfathers differs from that of grandfathers who have married but never divorced, and whether the effect of marital status is different between grandfathers and grandmothers. Grandparental involvement is measured by childcare and contact frequencies with grandchildren. The investigation is based on the Generational Transmissions in Finland survey, with data including 1441 grandparents aged between 62 and 67. We found that divorce as well as remarriage reduced the contacts and childcare provided by grandfathers. Among both married and divorced grandparents, grandmothers were much more involved than grandfathers.