Grandparenting and Mortality: How Does Race-Ethnicity Matter?

Area of Science:

• Gerontology
• Sociology
• Public Health

Background:

• Intergenerational relationships, specifically grandparenting, are increasingly recognized as significant factors in older adult well-being.
• However, the precise influence of caring for grandchildren on mortality risk and its variations across racial-ethnic groups remains underexplored.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the association between providing care for grandchildren (grandparenting) and mortality risk in older adults.
• To examine how this association differs across racial-ethnic groups, considering the nuances of caregiving intensity and living arrangements.

Main Methods:

• Utilized data from the Health and Retirement Study (1998-2014), a longitudinal survey of a large, nationally representative sample of older Americans (N = 13,705).
• Employed survival analysis techniques to assess the relationship between various forms of grandparenting and all-cause mortality.
• Differentiated grandparenting by intensity (e.g., intensive noncoresident care >500 hours/2 years) and household structure (multigenerational, skipped-generation).

Main Results:

• White grandparents engaged in intensive noncoresident or multigenerational household care exhibited a reduced mortality risk compared to noncaregiving peers.
• Black grandparents providing intensive noncoresident, multigenerational household, or skipped-generation household care experienced an elevated mortality risk relative to noncaregiving Black grandparents.
• Hispanic grandparents who provided care did not show a statistically significant difference in mortality risk compared to their noncaregiving counterparts.

Conclusions:

• The impact of grandparenting on older adult mortality is not uniform and is significantly moderated by race-ethnicity.
• Socio-cultural contexts unique to different racial-ethnic groups appear to shape the health consequences of providing care for grandchildren.
• Findings underscore the need for culturally sensitive approaches when examining intergenerational support and its implications for aging and mortality.