FAMILY RELATIONSHIP HISTORY, CONTEMPORARY PARENT-GRANDPARENT RELATIONSHIP QUALITY, AND THE GRANDPARENT-GRANDCHILD RELATIONSHIP

The purpose of this research is to investigate the effects of early family experiences on the mediating role of parents for the grandparent-grandchild relationship. The analysis was based on parents' and ninth graders' reports regarding 1,138 grandparents. Panel data were used to reduce method effects attributable to transient mood states. Adolescents' reports of frequency of contact with grandparents and of quality of the grandparent-grandchild relationship, and parents' reports of contemporary parent-grandparent relationship quality and of the parent-grandparent relationship history were used to minimize the potential of single reporter bias. Results indicate that recalled nonoptimal parent-child relationships between parents and grandparents negatively affected the contemporary parent-grandparent relationship and subsequently affected contact and relationship quality for grandchildren and their grandparents.