LAUSR

In South African families, grandparents are a key source of both instrumental and affective support. However, a paucity of South African research has examined the association between grandparental support and grandchildren’s mental and behavioural health. This study assessed the significance of grandparents in preadolescents’ lives and examined the levels of grandparental support provided in relation to other social network members. It also examined whether grandparental support was associated with grandchildren’s internalising and externalising problems as well as prosocial behaviour. A social network mapping procedure was completed by a sample of 120 grade 4 and 5 learners (9-12 years) from four schools in Cape Town. Teachers also completed brief cross-sectional surveys on children’s mental and behavioural health. The results of repeated-measures ANOVAs indicated that children perceived grandparents as the second most important and close relationship category after parents. Furthermore, subsequent to parental support, grandparents provided the second highest level of support to grandchildren. Hierarchical regression analysis indicated that grandparental support was not significantly associated with grandchildren’s internalising and externalising problems. However, grandparental support was positively associated with children’s prosocial behaviour, even after demographic characteristics and parent support were controlled for (p <.01). Findings underscore the value of grandparents in preadolescents’ lives and the need for more research to be conducted on the potential influence of the grandparent-grandchild relationship on children’s well-being.