Grandparents Raising Grandchildren: Factors Predicting Responsibility for Grandchildren in Multigenerational Households

• In Event: 1283 - Section on the Sociology of the Family Refereed Roundtable Session
  In Refereed Roundtable 60min: Table 05. Multigenerational Coresidence

Abstract

Demographic shifts, as well as social and economic crises, have led to an increase in coresident grandparent households. The role grandparents play in multigenerational households can vary. This paper uses pooled data from the 2013-2015 American Community Survey (ACS) to explore the factors that predict grandparents’ responsibility for their grandchildren in multigenerational households. The results suggest that grandparents’ responsibility differs by the presence of the grandchildren’s parents. Grandparent responsibility is more commonly found in skipped-generation households than three-generation households. Grandparents residing in skipped-generation households have greater odds of being responsible for their grandchildren if the grandparents are female, young, Hispanic, born in the US, receiving welfare, have a spouse present in the household, live in the South, and have more grandchildren present in the household. Grandparents who reside in three-generation households are more likely to be responsible for their grandchildren if they are male, young, and living in the South. Household headship in three-generation households is also associated with higher odds of coresident grandparents claiming responsibility for their grandchildren. Since grandparent caregiving is increasing across the United States, it is vital to study the characteristics of the grandparents responsible for their grandchildren.

Author

• Danielle George, State University of New York-Albany