Co-Resident Grandparents and Their Grandchildren: Family Structure Matters

Lynne M. Casper, University of Southern California
Radheeka Jayasundera, University of Southern California
Timothy J. Biblarz, University of Southern California

Since the 1990s, there has been increasing policy interest in the role grandparents play in raising and providing care for their children. Family structure is particularly relevant for the well-being of individuals in co-residential families. We use data from the 2000 and 2007 American Community Survey to (1) enumerate and describe family structure diversity within co-residential grandparent-grandchild households;’ (2) identify which grandparents take primary responsibility for their grandchildren and how this varies by family structure; and (3) employ multivariate methods to investigate the link between family structure and well-being for grandchildren living with their grandparents.