Grandparents have always played an important role in the Italian society and in family life;
however, little is known about the demography of grandparenthood despite dramatic global
demographic changes that are likely to affect both the occurrence and timing of the transition
to grandparenthood. Thus, we examined the prevalence and timing of grandparenthood in
Italy for different cohorts and geographical areas. As a natural laboratory, the Italian case is
particularly interesting because of ...
Grandparents have always played an important role in the Italian society and in family life;
however, little is known about the demography of grandparenthood despite dramatic global
demographic changes that are likely to affect both the occurrence and timing of the transition
to grandparenthood. Thus, we examined the prevalence and timing of grandparenthood in
Italy for different cohorts and geographical areas. As a natural laboratory, the Italian case is
particularly interesting because of its striking geographical differences in fertility and
educational levels that may impact on the demography of grandparenthood.
Employing data from the 2009 Italian Survey on "Family and Social Relations"
("Famiglia, soggetti sociali e condizione dell'infanzia‟) we used logistic and survival analysis
methods to examine the prevalence and timing of grandparenthood. Our respondents were
parents born between 1920 and 1949 (N=10,186), i.e. aged 60 and older at the time of the
interview.
Across all cohorts considered, Southern Italian parents were more likely to be
grandparents and to have experienced the transition to grandparenthood by age 60 in
comparison to those form the North. However, across all geographical areas, cohorts born in
the 1940s were increasingly less likely to have become grandparents by the age of 60
compared to those born in the two decades before. Such postponement appears to be largely
driven by family and educational compositional changes over time. For instance, although the
likelihood of a young mother with three or more children and low level of education to
become a grandparent has not changed much over time and across geographical areas, the
percentage of mothers with such characteristics has reduced significantly over time,
particularly in the North.
The prevalence and timing of the transition to grandparenthood vary considerably
across Italian geographical areas and the considered birth cohorts. Most of these variations
are explained by dramatic changes in fertility and educational levels.
+