THE MEANING OF GRANDPARENTS AS VIEWED BY ADOLESCENT GRANDCHILDREN - AN EMPIRICAL-STUDY IN BELGIUM

Why do adolescents value their grandparents? This was the leading ques tion of an investigation among 563 adolescents and young adults in Fla nders (Belgium). The Grandparent Meaning Scale which probes eleven a p riori dimensions of meaning, was completed by 147 early adolescents (M = 12.5 years), 175 middle adolescents (M = 15.7 years), and 241 late adolescents (M = 18.9 years). Results show that adolescents generally find their grandparents important and feel close to them. Grandparents are valued primarily because they provide affection, reassurance of w orth, and reliable alliance. Relational-affective and caregiving meani ngs were assigned more often to grandmothers whereas advising, teachin g, and narrative roles were ascribed more frequently to grandfathers. Maternal grandparents were generally perceived as more important and c loser than paternal grandparents. Early adolescents assigned more impo rtance and meaning to their grandparents than middle and late adolesce nts. There were no differences between grandsons and granddaughters.