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Grandparents of Children with Disabilities pp 1–18Cite as

Grandparenthood—Grand Generativity

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Part of the book series: SpringerBriefs in Well-Being and Quality of Life Research ((BRIEFSWELLBEING))

Abstract

Grandparenthood has gained enhanced importance in recent decades as a result of the increase in longevity and decrease in fertility and birth rate which have made it not only one of the most significant roles in an individual’s life, but also one of the longest-held. This chapter presents a historical “road map” of the theoretical and empirical study of grandparenthood, beginning with a review of the various theoretical approaches. This is followed by a discussion of the definition of the grandparent role and a description of the relationship between grandparents and their grandchildren, with a focus on current trends in research. The role is also discussed in relation to the emergence of specific sociodemographic and familial characteristics, such as the rise in the number of single-parent and single-sex families, which have created new patterns of intergenerational relationships. The chapter concludes with a discussion of the challenges facing future research and clinical practice.

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  1. The Louis and Gabi Weisfeld School of Social Work, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Israel

    Shirley Ben Shlomo & Orit Taubman – Ben-Ari

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  1. Shirley Ben Shlomo
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Correspondence to Orit Taubman – Ben-Ari .

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Ben Shlomo, S., Taubman – Ben-Ari, O. (2016). Grandparenthood—Grand Generativity. In: Grandparents of Children with Disabilities. SpringerBriefs in Well-Being and Quality of Life Research. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-45517-4_1

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