Titre du document / Document title

The meaning of grandparents as viewed by adolescent grandchildren : an empirical study in Belgium

Auteur(s) / Author(s)

VAN RANST N. ; VERSCHUEREN K. ; MARCOEN A. ;

Affiliation(s) du ou des auteurs / Author(s) Affiliation(s)

Univ. Louvain, BELGIQUE

Résumé / Abstract

Why do adolescents value their grandparents? This was the leading question of an investigation among 563 adolescents and young adults in Flanders (Belgium). The Grandparent Meaning Scale which probes eleven a priori dimensions of meaning, was completed by 147 early adolescents (M = 12.5 years), 175 middle adolescents (M = 15.7 years), and 241 late adolescents (M = 18.9 years). Results show that adolescents generally find their grandparents important and feel close to them. Grandparents are valued primarily because they provide affection, reassurance of worth, and reliable alliance. Relational-affective and caregiving meanings were assigned more often to grandmothers whereas advising, teaching, and narrative roles were ascribed more frequently to grandfathers. Maternal grandparents were generally perceived as more important and closer than paternal grandparents. Early adolescents assigned more importance and meaning to their grandparents than middle and late adolescents. There were no differences between grandsons and granddaughters.

Revue / Journal Title

International journal of aging & human development   ISSN 0091-4150   CODEN AGHDAK 

Source / Source

1995, vol. 41, n^o4, pp. 311-324 (23 ref.)

Langue / Language

Anglais

Editeur / Publisher

Baywood, Farmingdale, NY, ETATS-UNIS  (1973) (Revue)

Mots-clés anglais / English Keywords

Attitude ; Intergeneration relation ; Belgium ; Age ; Affect affectivity ; Adolescent ; Europe ; Human ;

Mots-clés français / French Keywords

Attitude ; Relation intergénération ; Belgique ; Age ; Affect affectivité ; Adolescent ; Grand parent ; Europe ; Homme ;

Mots-clés espagnols / Spanish Keywords

Actitud ; Relación intergeneración ; Belgica ; Edad ; Afecto afectividad ; Adolescente ; Europa ; Hombre ;

Localisation / Location

INIST-CNRS, Cote INIST : 16028, 35400005254561.0040