Heterogenous Life Course Transition in Older Adulthood

Bowling Green State Univ Bowling Green, Bowling Green OH

Investigators

Abstract

This study focuses on Research Objective 22: Personality and Experimental Social Psychology, specificallly the social context and fife course transition of grandparent caregivers. Using the lens of generativity as a conceptualization of successful aging, an older adults anticipated hetergenous and multicultural life course trajectory will be investigated. The fife course transition of raising a grandchild will be examined within the societal context of the age-graded public education system to examine the effects of a heterogeneous life course transition (providing care to grandchildren) on adult development. Currently, there is a modest amount of empirical research that has examined the link between the off-time role of parental surrogate to a grandparent's personality development. The goal of this study is to examine how the grandparent caregiver role and societal perceptions of that role combine to affect development. Adult development integrates physical and psychological functioning. An anticipated implication of the proposed study is help answer the question: What enhances and/or impedes a successful aging process for grandparent caregivers? Data will be collected from volunteer grandparent caregivers and public school personnel using self-report surveys. The sample will be recruited with the cooperation with the public education system representing a heterogeneous and multicultural student population. For grandparent caregivers, measures will include generativity, physical and psychological functioning, caregiver mastery and burden, and offtime role perception. For school personnel, measures will include the role perception of a grandparent fulfilling a parent role. It is expected that grandparent caregivers with negative symptomology in physical and psychological functioning, a decrease sense of caregiving mastery, burden and off time role perception will perceive their generativity to be at-risk. Data analysis will explore regression models to test. hypotheses with appropriate within group analyses to explore what enhanceslmpedes the development process for grandparent caregivers.