Dyadic perceptions of grandmothers' influence on adult granddaughters' beliefs

Abstract

<p>The increasing role, both formally and informally, of grandparents in their grandchildren's lives necessitates greater exploration of the influence grandparents have on their grandchildren. In the current study, intergenerational transmission was defined as the process through which purposely or unintentionally an older generation influences the values and belief systems of a younger generation. Prior research has demonstrated the influence of grandparents on their grandchildren in regards to socioeconomic status, education, and physical health. The current study aim was to investigate similarity (i.e., congruence) between grandmothers' and granddaughters' perceptions of grandmothers' influence across four domains (i.e., religious, moral, and sexual beliefs, and family ideals), and to identify factors predictive of belief congruency between the partners. Perceptions of belief influence were gathered from 45 grandmother-adult granddaughter dyads and assessed by the Network of Relationships Inventory Survey (Furman & Buhrmester, 1985). Results indicated that compared to grandmothers, granddaughters tended to perceive their grandmothers' influence as greater in domains of religious beliefs, moral beliefs and family ideals. Hierarchal regression analyses revealed different individual and dyadic-level predictors of similarity in grandmother and granddaughter's perceptions of influence. Understanding and communication between grandmothers and granddaughters were predictive of congruence of religious beliefs influence, while perceived closeness between the partners predicted congruence of sexual belief influence.</p>