Family and fertility: kin influence on the progression to a second birth in the British Household Panel Study.

Particular features of human female life history, such as short birth intervals and the early cessation of female reproduction (menopause), are argued to be evidence that humans are 'cooperative breeders', with a reproductive strategy adapted to conditions where mothers receive substantial assistance in childraising. Evolutionary anthropologists have so far largely focussed on measuring the influence of kin on reproduction in natural fertility populations. Here we look at the effect in a present-day low-fertility population, by analysing whether kin affect parity progression in the British Household Panel Study. Two explanatory variables related to kin influence significantly increase the odds of a female having a second birth: i) having relatives who provide childcare and ii) having a larger number of frequently contacted and emotionally close relatives. Both effects were measured subject to numerous socio-economic controls and appear to be independent of one another. We therefore conclude that kin may influence the progression to a second birth. This influence is possibly due to two proximate mechanisms: kin priming through communication and kin assistance with childcare

Grandparenting after parental divorce: the association between non-resident parent–child meetings and grandparenting in Italy

Previous studies have shown that parental divorce has negative consequences on parent–child relationships and that these effects extend to relations between grandchildren and their grandparents. After parental divorce, grandchildren have less intense and lower quality relations with their grandparents. Some studies suggest that this negative association between union dissolution in the middle generation and grandparent–grandchild relations is explained by the post-divorce residential arrangements and, to a lesser extent, by the gatekeeping role exercised by the resident parent. The role of the frequency of meetings between the non-resident parent and his/her children, however, has been often overlooked in this literature. Using cross-sectional data from the Italian Family and Social Subject Survey, our study explores the extent to which frequent meetings between non-resident separated or divorced parents and their children below age 14 are correlated with grandparent involvement in looking after their grandchildren. The results show that young children who have very frequent meetings with their non-resident parents are more likely to receive care from their grandparents than are those who meet the non-resident parents once a week or less frequently

Structured ambivalence in grandchild care and the quality of life among European grandparents

This study employs the concept of structured ambivalence to analyse the effect of grandchild care on quality of life (QoL) in different cultural contexts. We define structured ambivalence as the contradiction between behaviour and cultural norms. The analysis is based on the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe with 14 countries in the sample. We focus on grandparents aged 50 and over with at least one grandchild 12 years old or younger (n = 12,740). In countries with high grandparent obligations, grandparents who did not look after their grandchildren reported a lower quality of life. Compliance with such grandparental obligations (e.g. providing grandchild care in a country with high grandparent obligations) was found to increase the QoL of grandparents. Family policy should consider family practices that better match the realities of current grandparents’ lives in order to reduce structured ambivalence and increase the QoL of grandparents