Abstract
Researchers in the field of child development have typically downplayed the influence of grandparents on their grandchildren and on their adult children, and most studies of grandparents have taken place in Western societies. This chapter focuses on three sets of research questions. First, how do grandparents influence their young or preschool age grandchildren, how are they influenced by their grandchildren, and how do grandparents influence their adult children? Second, what are some similarities and differences among grandparents, between and within cultural groups? Third, how do grandparents affect, and how are they affected by, cultural variations in children’s social worlds and in social competencies valued by different cultures? As an assessment of the growing social science research literature on grandparenthood in cultural context, this chapter illustrates many contextual influences on grandparents and indicates that a multi-disciplinary and cultural approach is necessary to better understand and support grandparents worldwide.
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Acknowledgements
We thank Barbara J. Shwalb, Tony Merz, Michael Ullery, Jonathan Berman, Andy Gorder, Allison Shwalb, Wendy Greenwald, Martin Greenwald, and Southern Utah University (SUU) Psychology Department chairs Grant Corser and Garrett Strosser. We also acknowledge the support of Hector Ochoa (University of New Mexico) and Daniella Elyse Pitzalis. This chapter is respectfully dedicated to our grandparents: Harry and Lena Shwalb, and Solomon and Martha Greenwald, of blessed memory; Adalat Bepari and Saleha Khatun, Alhaj Safatullah Khan and Shakhina Khatun; and Giovanna and Luciano Marchese, Mario and Letizia of blessed memory.
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Shwalb, D.W., Hossain, Z., Eisberg, G. (2019). The Roles of Grandparents in Child Development: A Cultural Approach. In: Tulviste, T., Best, D., Gibbons, J. (eds) Children’s Social Worlds in Cultural Context. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-27033-9_12
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