Further research is needed to determine why grandparents are more likely to intervene in some situations involving divorce, separation, unemployment, neglect, or abuse but not others. Among households headed by grandparents in which both grandchildren and adult children reside, the needs of adult children appear to be the primary determinant of coresidence. Divorce, birth of a new child, and unemployment all increase the likelihood of coresidence. Better job opportunities, availability of public assistance, lower housing prices, and higher parental income reduce the probability of coresidence. A major roadblock in understanding grandparents' care for grandchildren is a lack of data.
Few surveys ask adult respondents with children about whether they are grandparents.
Pebley and her colleagues are analyzing more representative data on grandchildren and the grandparents who care for them, as well as on the determinants of this kind of care over the course of childhood. Grandparent care for grandchildren affects both children and their grandparents. This continuing research will provide new insights on the state of family relations, particularly intergenerational relations, in the United States. This research brief describes work done in RAND's Labor and Population Program as part of the Population Research Center and supported by a grant from the National Institute for Child Health and Human Development. This research brief is also available in printed form .