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Grandmothers as Replacement Parents and Partners: The Role of Grandmotherhood in Single Parent Families

Category: Journal Articles

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Harper, S.  & Ruicheva, I. (2010) Grandmothers as Replacement Parents and Partners: The Role of Grandmotherhood in Single Parent Families, Journal of Intergenerational Relationships, 8:3, 219-233.

The increasingly important role that grandparents and, in particular, grandmothers, are playing in the lives of their children and grandchildren is now widely recognized. What is less clear is the type of role these family members play within the extended family. Drawing on an in depth study of UK lone parent families, this paper reveals that grandmothers frequently become replacement partners as well as parents. While grandparents as replacement or surrogate parents have been identified in other studies, grandparents as replacement partners have not been well recognized. Yet their role is also of importance in sustaining the lone parent and contributing to the well-being of the grandchild.

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