The study confirms the belief that grandchildren moving into and remaining in the household takes a toll on grandmothers, especially in early stages. Nor did they find significant decline in depressive symptoms when grandchildren moved out. Rather when grandchildren leave the household grandfathers experience an increase in depressive symptoms. The study relies on analyses of the National Survey of Families and Households of which two waves have been collected. The findings suggest that effects of surrogate parenting differ by gender.
Grandfathers also seem to benefit from the grandchildren's companionship.
Grandmothers, on the other hand, take the main burden of childcare, and this burden apparently leads to stress symptoms. Long-term stays of grandchildren seems to be particularly difficult when the grandchild's mother is also in the household. The study looked at some of the problems that the surrogate parents are facing, and how it is affecting their well being and the well-being of their wards, an estimated 3.9 million children who were being raised by grandparents in 1997. Social Sciences is a refereed publication of The Gerontological Society of America, the national organization of professionals in the field of aging.