Changes in Grandparent-Grandchild Contact Ten Years after Divorce

Weverthon Machado , Utrecht University
Anne M. D. Brons, Utrecht University
Anne-Rigt Poortman, Utrecht University

Contact between grandparents and grandchildren after divorce has received some attention in recent years. But most research has focused on a single measure in time, usually a few years after the divorce or separation, and there is limited evidence on how the contact develops in the long run. We examine changes in contact up to ten years following divorce. Besides describing overall trends, we aim to gain insight into the role of (changes) in postdivorce residence arrangements and repartnering by parents. As the middle generation (i.e., parents) often facilitates contact between grandparents and grandchildren, grandparents on the non-resident parent's side have less opportunities for face-to-face interaction with grandchildren. In addition, repartnering by parents may lead to less grandparent-grandchild contact, especially for grandparents in the non-resident parent's side. We use three waves of the New Families in the Netherlands survey (NFN 2012/13, 2015/16 and 2020), held among parents who divorced/separated in 2010, providing information about yearly frequency of grandparent-grandchild contact at two, five and ten years after divorce. First results show that contact with both maternal and paternal grandparents declines over time — a trend that is mostly due to children growing up — though differences across residential arrangements remain important.

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 Presented in Session 37. Union Dissolution and Children