What are the social consequences of beginning or ceasing to care for grandchildren? Evidence from an asymmetric fixed effects analysis of community dwelling adults in Germany

Objective: To examine the influence of a change in one's caregiving status, i.e. beginning to provide grandchild care or ceasing to provide grandchild care, on feelings of loneliness and one's social network size. Method: A longitudinal study was conducted, using data drawn from a population-based sample of community-based individuals >= 40 years. This data was analyzed using asymmetric fixed effects models (n = 8,678 observations). Perceived loneliness was measured using a short version of the De Jong Gierveld Loneliness Scale. The number of important people with whom respondents have regular contact was used an outcome variable. All respondents were asked whether they privately cared for children that were not their own. Results: Beginning to undertake care of a grandchild was associated with an increase in loneliness scores among men (beta = 0.10, p < 0.001). Beginning to undertake care of a grandchild also increased the social network size among male grandparents (beta = 0.68, p < 0.001). Ceasing to undertake grandchild care was not found to have an impact on feelings of loneliness or social network size among male, nor female, grandparents. Conclusion: This study identifies a positive association between caring for one's grandchild and one's social network. Men were found to experiences increases in feelings of loneliness, where women did not, suggesting possible divergences and experiences of this role. Grandfathers in particular should receive additional support when commencing the care of a grandchild to mitigate possible feelings of loneliness. This study builds on the growing literature exploring the implications of a grandparents undertaking supplementary care of their grandchildren.