Improving Grandparent Success

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Abstract
Grandparents deserve access to classes that help them adjust to their changing role and build satisfying family relationships. Previous research resulted in the nation's first educational curriculum for “Becoming a Better Grandparent.” This study was conducted to determine the benefits of the program. Self-selected grandparents, drawn from randomly paired sites within religions, reflected the national proportion of people over the age of 50 who classify themselves as Protestant, Catholic, or Jewish. A control group of 185 members was denied instruction but completed the Grandparent Strengths and Needs Inventory at three different times. Twelve weekly classes were provided for 210 grandparents in an experimental group. Each of these persons chose one son or daughter and one grandchild to help evaluate changes in grandparent attitudes and behavior. All three generations completed separate versions of the Grandparent Strengths and Needs Inventory before classes began, at the end of the intervention, and 3 months later. Posttest results of grandparents revealed significant improvement. The gains were corroborated by parents and grandchildren. Multivariate analyses identified the impact of 11 independent variables on grandparent performance. The control group showed no improvement during the project.

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