Abstract

Grandparents can play a supportive role in the lives of their grandchildren when their parents split up, but at the same time divorces also raise concerns about the impact on grandchild-grandparent ties. Based on data from more than 1000 children between ten and 25 years old and their married or divorced parents participating in the survey ‘Divorce in Flanders’, this article investigates the association between a parental divorce and contacts between children and their grandparents. Results show that compared to children whose parents are still married, children of divorced parents have less frequent contact with their grandparents, and especially paternal grandparents. Longer traveling times to grandparents explain a large part of the negative relationship between divorce and contact frequency. The living arrangement of grandchildren seems to be decisive for contacts with maternal as well as paternal grandparents.

How to Cite:

Jappens, M. & Van Bavel, J., (2012) “Echtscheiding en contacten tussen kleinkinderen en grootouders”, Tijdschrift voor Sociologie 33(3-4), 296–328. doi: https://doi.org/10.21825/sociologos.86806