Trajectories of grandparents' perceived solidarity with adult grandchildren: a growth curve analysis over 23 years

Patterns of change in grandparents' beliefs about affection and in-person contact and geographic nearness with adult grandchildren over five points of measurement between 1971 and 1994 were determined. Information from the Longitudinal Study of Generations were employed. Hierarchical linear modeling showed quadratic trends in both growth curves. Affection decreased over the first 14 years and then gradually reversed.