Grandparents who stopped looking after their grandchildren during the COVID-19 pandemic were considerably more likely to experience depressive symptoms compared to those who did not, a recent study reveals. Researchers also found that grandparents in the UK who either stopped or reduced the amount of time spent caring for their grandchildren reported lower life satisfaction and quality of life.

The researchers analyzed data from a sample of 2,468 grandparents over the age of 50 with grandchildren under the age of 15 from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing. Right before the pandemic outbreak, in February 2020, 52% of the grandparents looked after their grandchildren. However, during the first year of the pandemic, older people were advised by the government to stay indoors and limit their in-person interactions with others to reduce the risk of catching COVID-19.

Perhaps partly as a result, 22% of grandparents reported that their engagement in grandchild care was mostly reduced compared to pre-pandemic, and around 10% stopped caring for their grandchildren entirely over the first nine pandemic months.

In November and December 2020, more than a third (34.3%) of grandparents who stopped looking after their grandchildren throughout those nine months reported high levels of depressive symptoms, such as feeling sad or having restless sleep, compared to 26% of those who continued to look after grandchildren. Those who stopped also reported lower life satisfaction, and a lower quality of life.

Lead author Giorgio Di Gessa, PhD, of the UCL Institute of Epidemiology & Health Care said, “Looking after grandchildren may provide grandparents with emotional gratification and a sense of usefulness and competence, thereby enhancing life satisfaction. Grandparents’ involvement in such a family activity may also provide them with a sense of value and attachment, thereby strengthening intergenerational relationships and positive emotional exchanges that might benefit their mental health.”

To read the study, "Changes in Grandparental Childcare During the Pandemic and Mental Health: Evidence From England," click here