Grandparents as interactive and social support agents for families with young infants

The role of grandparents in infancy was examined in a comparative analysis of grandparent-infant grandchild and parent-infant interaction patterns. A second focus of the study was an exploration of the extent to which grandparents function as social support agents for their adult children and infant grandchildren. Grandparents (30 grandmothers and 21 grandfathers) and parents (30 mothers and 30 fathers) of seven-month-old infants were observed in individual five-minute dyadic play sessions with the infant in the parents' homes, yielding twenty minutes of agent-infant interaction. The observations were scored using both time-sampling and global coding schemes. Information on grandparental support to the young parents and infants, relative to other social support sources, were also obtained from grandparents and parents. Results indicated that both grandmothers and grandfathers are active interactive and support agents, with a pattern of similarities and differences in interactive style across generation and gender. Although there was a high degree of overlap in parent and grandparent interaction styles, parents were rated as more competent. Gender consistencies were found between female agents (mothers and grandmothers) and male agents (fathers and grandfathers). High levels of intergenerational contact were reported, with both parents and grandparents highly satisfied with the contact. The results of this study support an expanded view of the effects of various agents in young children's social environment.