TY - JOUR T1 - Grandparenting, Social Relations, and Mortality in Old Age. JF - Research on Aging Y1 - 2022 A1 - Heejung Jang A1 - Tang, Fengyan A1 - Fusco, Rachel A A1 - Engel, Rafael J A1 - Steven M. Albert KW - Grandparenting KW - Mortality KW - Social networks KW - Social Support AB -

Guided by a convoy model of social relations, this study investigates the relationships between grandparenting status, social relations, and mortality among community-dwelling grandparents age 65 and older who are caring for their grandchildren. The data were drawn from the 2008 and 2016 waves of the Health and Retirement Study ( = 564). Latent class analysis was used to identify the social network structure based on six indicators of interpersonal relationships and activities. A series of hierarchical Weibull hazard models estimated the associations between grandparent caregiving, social relations, and mortality risk. Results of survival analyses indicate that co-parenting and custodial grandparents had higher all-cause mortality risk than grandparents who babysat occasionally; however, for custodial grandparents, the association was not significant once social relation variables were added to the model. This study suggests that community-based support may be beneficial to older grandparents and improved relationship quality is integral to the well-being of older adults.

VL - 44 IS - 3-4 ER -