Grandparental Investments and Family Dynamics in Contemporary Europe

Intergenerational relations have in recent decades become an integral part of both sociology and evolutionary research. These disciplines are, however, rarely in dialogue with each other. The present study is a social and public policy thesis, the main purpose of which is to combine theories from family sociology and evolutionary theory. Empirically, the study asks the following question: What factors are associated with the strengths and weaknesses of intergenerational relations, grandparental care and differences between types of grandparents? The thesis consists of five empirical articles and a summary chapter. The sub-studies were conducted with three large and representative surveys, which include respondents from 16 European countries. These datasets are the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe, the Involved Grandparenting and Child Well-Being Survey, and the Generational Transmissions in Finland data. The Methods used in the empirical articles are quantitative. Publications of the Faculty of Social Sciences 13 (2016) Social and Public Policy