IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/osf/socarx/4nh5e.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Grandparents in Italy: trends and changes in the demography of grandparenthood from 1998 to 2016

Author

Listed:
  • Cisotto, Elisa
  • Meli, Eleonora
  • Cavrini, Giulia

Abstract

In this article we explore the last two decades of changes in the demography of grandparenthood in Italy, by means of a set of measures: the proportion of men and women becoming grandparents by age and time, the age at transition to grandparenthood and its crossing with a set of life events and the length of grandparenthood. We used data from the four waves of the Survey on Family and Social Subjects carried out by the Italian National Institute of Statistics in 1998, 2003, 2009 and 2016. Overall, the median age at which half of the population over 35 is made up of grandparents moved forward by at least 5 years during the two observed decades. The postponement of grandparenthood is evident in middle age: between 55 and 64 the ratio of grandparents to non-grandparents decreased significantly by about 10 per cent. Overall, among people who had ever had children, the median age at the transition to grandparenthood advanced by three years from 1998 to 2016, both for men (59 to 62) and women (54 to 57). This difference is greater than that observed for age at parenthood and equal to the advantage gained in terms of life expectancy at age 60. Thus, although grandparenthood has been postponed over the last two decades in Italy, the great gains in remaining life expectancy result in grandparent-grandchildren lifetime not being reduced.

Suggested Citation

  • Cisotto, Elisa & Meli, Eleonora & Cavrini, Giulia, 2021. "Grandparents in Italy: trends and changes in the demography of grandparenthood from 1998 to 2016," SocArXiv 4nh5e, Center for Open Science.
    • Handle: RePEc:osf:socarx:4nh5e
    DOI: 10.31219/osf.io/4nh5e
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://osf.io/download/61682ed9c5565802bc4b67fe/
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.31219/osf.io/4nh5e?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Marco Albertini & Marco Tosi, 2018. "Grandparenting after parental divorce: The association between non-resident parent–child meetings and grandparenting in Italy," European Journal of Ageing, Springer, vol. 15(3), pages 277-286, September.
    2. Ron Lesthaeghe, 2010. "The Unfolding Story of the Second Demographic Transition," Population and Development Review, The Population Council, Inc., vol. 36(2), pages 211-251, June.
    3. Marcantonio Caltabiano & Maria Castiglioni & Alessandro Rosina, 2009. "Lowest-Low Fertility: Signs of a recovery in Italy?," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 21(23), pages 681-718.
    4. Grundy, Emily & Tomassini, Cecilia, 2005. "Fertility history and health in later life: a record linkage study in England and Wales," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 61(1), pages 217-228, July.
    5. Rachel Margolis & Ashton M. Verdery, 2019. "A Cohort Perspective on the Demography of Grandparenthood: Past, Present, and Future Changes in Race and Sex Disparities in the United States," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 56(4), pages 1495-1518, August.
    6. Alessandro Rosina & Romina Fraboni, 2004. "Is marriage losing its centrality in Italy?," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 11(6), pages 149-172.
    7. Jessica Zamberletti & Giulia Cavrini & Cecilia Tomassini, 2018. "Grandparents providing childcare in Italy," European Journal of Ageing, Springer, vol. 15(3), pages 265-275, September.
    8. Karsten Hank & Giulia Cavrini & Giorgio Gessa & Cecilia Tomassini, 2018. "What do we know about grandparents? Insights from current quantitative data and identification of future data needs," European Journal of Ageing, Springer, vol. 15(3), pages 225-235, September.
    9. Bruno Arpino & Valeria Bordone, 2017. "Regular provision of grandchild care and participation in social activities," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 15(1), pages 135-174, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Karen Glaser & Karsten Hank, 2018. "Grandparenthood in Europe," European Journal of Ageing, Springer, vol. 15(3), pages 221-223, September.
    2. Giorgio Di Gessa & Karen Glaser & Paola Zaninotto, 2022. "Is grandparental childcare socio-economically patterned? Evidence from the English longitudinal study of ageing," European Journal of Ageing, Springer, vol. 19(3), pages 763-774, September.
    3. Jesus Rodrigo-Comino & Gianluca Egidi & Luca Salvati & Giovanni Quaranta & Rosanna Salvia & Antonio Gimenez-Morera, 2021. "High-to-Low (Regional) Fertility Transitions in a Peripheral European Country: The Contribution of Exploratory Time Series Analysis," Data, MDPI, vol. 6(2), pages 1-14, February.
    4. Maria Winkler-Dworak & Eva Beaujouan & Paola Di Giulio & Martin Spielauer, 2019. "Simulating Family Life Courses: An Application for Italy, Great Britain, and Scandinavia," VID Working Papers 1908, Vienna Institute of Demography (VID) of the Austrian Academy of Sciences in Vienna.
    5. María Sánchez-Román & Gadea Autric-Tamayo & Gloria Fernandez-Mayoralas & Fermina Rojo-Perez & María Silveria Agulló-Tomás & Diego Sánchez-González & Vicente Rodriguez-Rodriguez, 2022. "Social Image of Old Age, Gendered Ageism and Inclusive Places: Older People in the Media," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(24), pages 1-26, December.
    6. Agnese Vitali & Romina Fraboni, 2022. "Pooling of Wealth in Marriage: The Role of Premarital Cohabitation," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 38(4), pages 721-754, October.
    7. Roberto Impicciatore & Gianpiero Dalla Zuanna, 2017. "The impact of education on fertility in Italy. Changes across cohorts and south–north differences," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 51(5), pages 2293-2317, September.
    8. Ester Fanelli, 2023. "Italian Nonmarital Fertility Ratio: Components of an Unexpected Rise," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 42(5), pages 1-21, October.
    9. Francesca Zanasi & Bruno Arpino & Valeria Bordone & Karsten Hank, 2023. "The prevalence of grandparental childcare in Europe: a research update," European Journal of Ageing, Springer, vol. 20(1), pages 1-9, December.
    10. Paola Di Giulio & Roberto Impicciatore & Maria Sironi, 2019. "The changing pattern of cohabitation: A sequence analysis approach," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 40(42), pages 1211-1248.
    11. Ilaria Zambon & Kostas Rontos & Cecilia Reynaud & Luca Salvati, 2020. "Toward an unwanted dividend? Fertility decline and the North–South divide in Italy, 1952–2018," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 54(1), pages 169-187, February.
    12. Arpino, Bruno & Gumà, Jordi & Julià, Albert, 2023. "Non-standard family histories and wellbeing at older ages," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 338(C).
    13. Pasqualini, Marta & di Gessa, Giorgio & Tomassini, Cecilia, 2021. "A Change is (not) Gonna Come: A twenty-year overview of Italian grandparents-grandchildren exchanges," SocArXiv 8wgux, Center for Open Science.
    14. Jonathan F. Fox & Sebastian Klüsener & Mikko Myrskylä, 2015. "Is a positive relationship between fertility and economic development emerging at the sub-national regional level? Theoretical considerations and evidence from Europe," MPIDR Working Papers WP-2015-006, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany.
    15. Raffaele Guetto & Nazareno Panichella, 2019. "Family arrangements and children’s educational outcomes: Heterogeneous penalties in upper-secondary school," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 40(35), pages 1015-1046.
    16. Mikko Myrskyla & Hans-Peter Kohler & Francesco C. Billari, 2011. "High development and fertility: fertility at older reproductive ages and gender equality explain the positive link," Working Papers 049, "Carlo F. Dondena" Centre for Research on Social Dynamics (DONDENA), Università Commerciale Luigi Bocconi.
    17. Avital Manor & Barbara S. Okun, 2016. "Cohabitation among secular Jews in Israel: How ethnicity, education, and employment characteristics are related to young adults' living arrangements," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 35(32), pages 961-990.
    18. Dorota Kwiatkowska-Ciotucha & Alicja Grześkowiak & Urszula Załuska & Piotr Peternek, 2023. "Grandparents’ Professional and Educational Activity: A Positive or Negative Impact on Relationships with Grandchildren?," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(3), pages 1-16, January.
    19. García-Manglano, Javier & Nollenberger, Natalia & Sevilla, Almudena, 2014. "Gender, Time-Use, and Fertility Recovery in Industrialized Countries," IZA Discussion Papers 8613, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    20. Anna Baranowska-Rataj & Elena Pirani, 2013. "Will they turn back on you? The relations between young co habiting people and their parents," Working Papers 63, Institute of Statistics and Demography, Warsaw School of Economics.

    More about this item

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:osf:socarx:4nh5e. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: OSF (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://arabixiv.org .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.