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Grandmothers are part of parenting network too

4 important questions on Grandmothers are part of parenting network too

What will they explore in current study

Most coparenting studies include Western families and mainly focus on the mother-father-child network (triangle), whereas mother-grandmother coparenting is a common phenomenon in most Asian cultures. In current study, we explore for the first time the associations between observations of mother-grandmother-infant network and child socioemotional development in the large but understudied Chinese culture.

What method was used in this study

In the final 60 families (38 girls), 47 grandmothers(maternal grandmothers: 57.45%) were videotaped in family interaction tasks at T1 and43 grandmothers (maternal grandmothers: 44.19%) were videotaped in family interactiontasks at T2.

Home visits had two parts: (a) a triadic family interaction involving mother, grandmother,and child and (b) a dyadic infant-mother interaction. During the home visits, researchassistants worked with the family to identify an area relatively free from distraction wherefamily interactions could be videotaped.

How were the different variables studied

- Coparenting; coparenting coding system (BELSKY) was used
- Maternal sensitivity; Maternal Behavior Q-sort based on dyadic interaction tasks
- Infant-mother attachment; Ainsworth attachment coding system
- Child behavior problems; two subscales (Externalizing, internalizing) of infant-toddler Social and emotional assessment was used children’s behavior problems at 2 years of age.

What was the answer to the second research question;

The extent to which mother-grandmother coparenting behaviors are associated with child socioemotional outcomes and whether relations between coparenting and child development are mediated by maternal sensitivity

Coparenting behaviors did relate to infant-mother attachment, but unexpectedly, only more grandmothers’ neutral/watching coparenting behaviors related to a more secure attachment relationship to mothers. In other words, when mothers initiated an activity with infants, more quietly watching behaviors exhibited by grandmothers had a positive association with secure infant-mother attachment. One might speculate that grandmother’s leaving more room for the mother in a coparenting relationship and not actively interfering with their dyadic interactions facilitates child’s emergence of more secure attachments to his or her mother.

The question on the page originate from the summary of the following study material:

Early Development

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