Tuesday, October 1, 2002
Study shows that staying in touch with grandparents help children deal with divorce
A story released today by Divorce-Online News reports that a
recent study by Dr. Kirby Deater-Deckard of the University of Oregon in
Eugene, children may be better able to adjust to their parents' divorce and
remarriage if they stay in contact with their maternal grandparents.
"We know from decades of research on children's development that they
benefit from stable and loving environments," said Deater-Deckard. "It's
important to remind ourselves that grandparents are an important part of the
equation."
Children who lived either with their biological mothers or with both
biological parents were more likely to be in contact with their
grandparents--particularly their maternal grandparents--than children who
lived with stepparents, reports the September issue of
the Journal of Family Psychology.
Overall, however, most children said they were close to their grandparents.This closeness was associated with better adjustment to their parents'
divorce and remarriage, the report indicates.
In some cases the closeness between grandchildren and grandparents
may not have had such positive effects.
Children who lived with their stepmother and a biological father, for
example, had more problems adjusting to their parents' divorce and
remarriage if they maintained contact with both maternal and stepmaternal grandparents, study findings indicate.
In general, children's closeness with maternal grandparents was
related to higher levels of adjustment, while closeness with
paternal grandparents was usually either unrelated to their adjustment or
was related to poorer adjustment, the researchers noted.
Still, in light of the findings, "grandparents play an very important role
as children and their parents navigate through the changes and challenges
that arise following parental divorce and remarriage," Deater-Deckard said.
"When they can do it, the adults--parent and grandparents--who are affected
by a divorce or remarriage, should strive to maintain and nurture this
special relationship between children and their grandparents," he added.
