A Step Above

Jenjira Yahirun (COF) recently co-authored an article on the demographics of step-grandparenthood in the United States, published in the Journals of Gerontology Series B. The study examines the prevalence of step-grandparenthood across birth cohorts and in different socioeconomic and racial/ethnic groups. The authors explain that a growing body of research has found that grandparents are increasingly instrumental in the lives of younger generations. However, little attention has been paid to step-grandparents, an overlooked but growing segment of the older adult population in the United States. They also point out that step-grandparenthood may represent a family institution that is distinct from step-parenthood, in part because the relationship may be less fraught than the stepparent–stepchild relationship. The little research thus far, to which theirs contributes, points to a broad range of interactions between step-grandparents and step-grandchildren. Jenjira’s research was also referenced in this New York Times column.