Abstract

Extended longevity has added decades of intergenerational family relationships. Grandparents’ health conditions, however, may interrupt their active engagement with grandchildren. On the other hand, the quality of social and family relationships impact older adults’ general health. The current study examined the relationships between older adults’ general health and their intergenerational relationship quality. Also examined were the predictive effects of grandparent-grandchild relationship closeness on the grandchildren’s self-esteem. An online survey was conducted in a mid-size, Midwestern university to examine grandchildren’s perspectives of their grandparent-grandchild relationship quality. The current study focused on the participants who were ages eighteen to twenty-seven with at least one living grandparent (N = 470). The age of the participants’ grandparents ranged from forty-seven to ninety-four. Path analysis examined grandparent-grandchild relationship effects on the grandparents’ perceived general health and grandchildren’s self-esteem. Grandparent-grandchild relationship closeness predicted grandparents’ perceived general health and grandchildren’s self-esteem, indicating the importance of intergenerational relationship quality for both generations. Multiple factors that link the grandparents’ health and their relationship qualities were also explored.