Breaking the Chain: How Grandparents Moderate the Transmission of Maternal Depression to Their Grandchildren

• Author: Sarah Ruiz,Merril Silverstein
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/j.1741-3729.2006.00429.x
• Date: 01 December 2006
• Published date: 01 December 2006

Breaking the Chain: How Grandparents

Moderate the Transmission of Maternal

Depression to Their Grandchildren

Merril Silverstein Sarah Ruiz*

Abstract: Drawing on family systems theory, this study examined whether social cohesion with grandparents moder-

ated the intergenerational transmission of depressive symptoms from mothers to their adolescent and young adult

children. We analyzed data from 2,280 grandchildren and their mothers who participated in two waves of the Na-

tional Survey of Families and Households. Results revealed that grandchildren who were least integrated with their

grandparents resembled their mothers in the severity of depressive symptoms. Grandchildren who were more inte-

grated with their grandparents bore no such resemblance. We conclude that grandparents are consequential family

actors who, by conditioning parent-child dynamics, influence the long-term emotional well-being of their grandchil-

dren. Results are discussed in terms of intergenerational interdependence and the untapped resource that older

adults represent.

Key Words: depression, family systems, grandchildren, grandparents, intergenerational transmission.

Although a great amount of attention has been

devoted to describing characteristics of grandparents

and their roles within the family (Cherlin &

Furstenberg, 1986; Silverstein & Marenco, 2001;

Szinovacz, 1998; Uhlenberg & Hammill, 1998), we

still know relatively little about their contribution to

their grandchildren, especially over the long term.

Research on custodial grandparenting has provided

strong evidence that grandparents stabilize the fam-

ily under extraordinary conditions of duress (Field &

Minkler, 1988; Goodman & Silverstein, 2002),

but the benefits of grandparents under more

ordinary conditions are often assumed and less

understood. In this investigation, we considered

grandparents as compensatory family resources who

safeguard their grandchildren from adverse risks

associated with maternal depression. Specifically, we

used a nationally representative longitudinal sample

of grandchildren to examine how relationships with

grandparents protect grandchildren from developing

depressive symptoms in young adulthood because of

earlier exposure to maternal depression. Our study

also has programmatic and practice implications for

the development of intergenerational programs and

enhancement of therapeutic interventions that take

account of wider family resources.

Symptoms of depression in adolescence and

young adulthood are increasingly considered mani-

festations of an underlying pathology noteworthy of

investigation and less a part of normal development

(Cooksey, Menaghan, & Jekielek, 1997). Generally,

adolescence is a vulnerable period ripe for the develop-

ment of affective illness and major depressive dis-

order (Hirsch, Moos, & Reischl, 1985; Weissman

et al., 1997). Young adulthood is also a time of in-

tensive role and identity acquisitions when negative

experiences have the potential to cause long-term

psychological harm (Roberts & Bengtson, 1993).

Early family relationships play a pivotal role, as

parent-child relationships may variably protect

*Merril Silverstein is Professor of Gerontology and Sociology at the Leonard Davis School of Gerontology, University of Southern California, 3715 McClintock Ave.,

Los Angeles, CA 90089 (merrils@usc.edu). Sarah Ruiz is a doctoral student in the Leonard Davis School of Gerontology, 3715 McClintock Ave., Los Angeles, CA

90089 (sarahrui@usc.edu).

Family Relations, 55 (December 2006), 601–612. Blackwell Publishing.

Copyright 2006 by the National Council on Family Relations.