Are Grandchildren Good for You? Well-Being and Health Effects of Becoming a Grandparent

Birgit Leimer () and Reyn Van Ewijk
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Birgit Leimer: Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz

No 2201, Working Papers from Gutenberg School of Management and Economics, Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz

Abstract: Becoming a grandparent is one of the major life transitions experienced by older individuals. Using data from ten Western European countries, we show that grandparenthood on average leads to a reduction in well-being while hardly impacting physical, cognitive and mental health. Effects are heterogeneous, though. Reductions in well-being appear among those having less family contact and not providing child care. Those with the opposite profile – except grandmothers providing daily child care – experience some health improvements without reduced well-being. Well-being reductions are not driven by unwanted/unplanned children. Grandparenthood induces people to retire, but retirement seems no relevant channel for well-being and health effects.

Pages: 47 pages
Date: 2022-12-01
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-age, nep-eur and nep-hea
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https://download.uni-mainz.de/RePEc/pdf/Discussion_Paper_2201.pdf First version, 2022 (application/pdf)

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Journal Article: Are grandchildren good for you? Well-being and health effects of becoming a grandparent (2022)
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