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

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  • 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_v1, Center for Open Science.
    • Handle: RePEc:osf:socarx:4nh5e_v1
    DOI: 10.31219/osf.io/4nh5e_v1
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. 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.
    2. Rachel Margolis & Laura Wright, 2017. "Healthy Grandparenthood: How Long Is It, and How Has It Changed?," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 54(6), pages 2073-2099, December.
    3. Marcantonio Caltabiano & Alessandro Rosina & Maria Castiglioni, 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. Francesco C. Billari & Dimiter Philipov & Pau Baizán Munoz, 2001. "Leaving home in Europe: the experience of cohorts born around 1960," MPIDR Working Papers WP-2001-014, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany.
    5. Jessica Zamberletti & Giulia Cavrini & Cecilia Tomassini, 2018. "Grandparents providing childcare in Italy," European Journal of Ageing, Springer, vol. 15(3), pages 265-275, September.
    6. 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.
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