Trajectories of grandparents' perceived solidarity with adult grandchildren: A growth curve analysis over 23 years

Demographic trends in the U.S. have produced an unprecedented number of gra ndparents who live long enough to see their grandchildren reach young adult hood and even middle age; In this analysis, data from the Longitudinal Stud y of Generations are used to identify patterns of change in grandparents' p erceptions of affection and in-person contact and geographic proximity with adult grandchildren over five points of measurement between 1971 and 1994. Hierarchical linear modeling reveals quadratic trends in both growth curve s. Affection declines over the first 14 years and then modestly reverses. C ontact and proximity decline at an accelerating rate. Older grandparents ha ve higher average levels of affection than younger grandparents, but they e xhibit sharper rates of decline in contact and proximity over time. When co horts are equated on age, later cohorts of grandparents decline more rapidl y in contact and proximity, suggesting that the grandparent role has change d in recent history.