The Associations between Early-Life Grandparenting Experience and Multidimensional Development of Adults

Grandparenthood has been a research focal point for gerontologists since the early 1980s. While most research focuses on systematically examining the effects of grandparenting on older adults, little is known about the long-term effects on child development. This study aims to examine the long-term effects of grandparenting on individual multidimensional development and distinguishes the critical period of grandparenting from life-course perspective. Drawing on a nationally representative sample from the China Labor-force Dynamics Survey (CLDS), we use ordinary least squares (OLS) and logit models to examine the associations between early-life (aged 0–15 years) grandparenting and multidimensional development in adulthood. Results show that early experience of grandparenting has profound adverse effects on later development: early childhood (preschool/0–6 years) is the critical period in terms of later mental health, non-cognitive ability. In addition, the cumulative effect is confirmed that the longer the duration of grandparenting, the greater the cumulative disadvantages in individual development. Our findings provide empirical support for views of grandparenting effect from a life-course perspective and highlight the enduring impact of early grandparenting to later multidimensional development of adult, as well as the important role of timing and cumulative effects of grandparenting.