Relacje i więź emocjonalna wnuków z dziadkami w okresie dzieciństwa a pomoc dziadkom przez młodych dorosłych
Emotional Bonds and Relationships between Grandchildren and Grandparents during Childhood and Their Influence on Young Adults' Support for Grandparents

Summary/Abstract: During childhood, individuals build family bonds. These primarily concern members of the closest family: parents, siblings, and grandparents. The caregiving role performed by family elders for their grandchildren constitutes a very important element in shaping the attitudes, behaviors, patterns, and norms of the youngest generation. The study was conducted using the diagnostic survey method. It involved 238 participants aged 18-35 (young adults) who maintained regular contact with their grandparents. The aim of the research was to demonstrate how bonds/relationships formed in childhood are reflected in the bonds/relationships between grandchildren and grandparents in adulthood. The subject of the study was the relationships between grandchildren and their grandparents. Three research questions were formulated. The first asked: What kinds of relationships with grandparents are present in the memories of young adults? Respondents indicated several positive memories, most frequently shared meals (28%), play activities (16%), trips (15%), holidays spent at their grandparents' homes (14%), walks (12%), and other experiences (39%). The second research question was formulated as follows: How often and in what ways do young adults spend their free time with their grandparents? The largest group of respondents meets with their grandparents once or several times a month (49% in total), 16% do so less than once a month, while more frequent contacts are several times a week (15%) or daily (12%), and meeting once a week was indicated least frequently (8%). The third research question asked: Whether and in what ways do young adults provide assistance to their grandparents in old age? The majority of respondents help their grandparents mainly with internet-related matters and everyday tasks such as shopping, cleaning, medical appointments, or organizing household life. This results from both progressing digitalization and the declining physical and mental fitness of older adults.

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