Few studies have examined the consequences of divorce in the middle generation on the grandparent's role.
Grandparents often become a family's first reserves in times of crisis.
In 1987, Crawford concluded that the stronger the tie with grandparents, the less likely children was to develop significant psychopathology in later life. Contemporary society has witnessed the evolution of the family from an extended family unit to the nuclear or modern family unit. Since the 1970s the divorcing family has been the subject of research, legal reforms, and media attention, the recipient of specialized services and the source of concern regarding the death of the family. Due to the increase in the life expectancy, most children have living grandparents. Social relations with paternal kin were found to decease for the children of divorce, particularly in the case of an absent father.