Grandparent-Grandchild Relationship and Older Adults’ Life Satisfaction

Background and Aim: Aging population is increasing progressively. Therefore, determining factors behind their life satisfaction is among research priorities. The present study aimed to evaluate the correlation of grandparent-grandchild relationship and older adults’ life satisfaction. Methods: This cross-sectional descriptive-correlational study was done on 377 older adults who were 60 years of age or older and lived in Kashan, Iran. Participants were selected via multistage sampling. A researcher-made questionnaire was used for the assessment of grandparent-grandchild relationship and life satisfaction. Collected data were entered into the SPSS software (v. 23.0) and analyzed by running the Pearson correlation and multiple linear regression analyses. Results: Participants aged 70.24 ± 8.20, on average, and were mostly female (62%). The mean scores of the association, emotional, and functional attachment dimensions of grandparent-grandchild relationship were 56.81 ± 13.18, 77.75 ± 16.64, and 68.22 ± 15.71, respectively. Moreover, the mean of life satisfaction was 81.40 ± 17.01. Life satisfaction was positively correlated with the association, emotional, and functional attachments (r = 0.31, 0.41, 0.35, respectively; P 0.001). Moreover, regression analysis illustrated that the emotional and functional attachments significantly predicted 20% of the total variance of life satisfaction (P 0.001). The strongest predictor of life satisfaction was emotional attachment. Conclusions: Grandparent-grandchild relationship can significantly improve older adults’ life satisfaction. Therefore, strategies are needed to strengthen this relationship.