BECOMING A GRANDPARENT - A LONGITUDINAL-STUDY OF EXPECTATIONS AND EARLY EXPERIENCES AS A FUNCTION OF SEX AND LINEAGE

First-time grandparents (N = 152) participated in a study of expectati ons of grandparenthood while their first grandchild was still in utero . One to 2 years after their first grandchild was born, they were aske d to fill out the Thomas (1990) grandparent questionnaire again, and 1 03 did so. Expectations and experiences of grandparenthood were compar ed separating grandparents by sex and by lineage. Expectations and exp eriences of grandparenthood differed by both grandparent sex and linea ge. In particular, grandmothers reported greater satisfaction and over all meaning in grandparenthood than grandfathers, whereas grandfathers felt more able to offer child-rearing advice to the parents. In regar d to lineage, maternal grandparents were more satisfied in grandparent hood than they expected to be, whereas paternal grandparents were not.