Caring for grandchildren may have a positive effect on the brains of older adults

It is not uncommon for grandparents to take care of their grandchildren as a support role for the child-rearing generation, and grandparents can be a major presence in child-rearing, especially in dual-income households. A research team from Tilburg University in the Netherlands reported that 'grandparents who take care of their grandchildren tend to perform better on tests related to memory and language than grandparents who do not take care of their grandchildren.'

Grandparents' Cognition and Caregiving for Grandchildren: Frequency, Type, and Variety of Activities
https://psycnet.apa.org/doiLanding?doi=10.1037%2Fpag0000958

A research team led by Flavia S. Kelleches of the Department of Developmental Psychology at Tilburg University and Gabriel Olar of the Department of Differential Psychology and Psychological Assessment at Charlotte Fresenius University in Germany analyzed the relationship between caring for grandchildren and cognitive function using data from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA), a survey of middle-aged and older adults in England.

The English Longitudinal Study of Aging (ELSA)
https://www.elsa-project.ac.uk/

The analysis targeted ELSA participants who were grandparents aged 50 or older, and used survey data from three periods: 2016-2017, 2018-2019, and 2021-2022, as well as cognitive function tests.

'Grandparents who care for their grandchildren have different backgrounds, such as health status and family situation, and these differences may manifest as differences in cognitive function. Therefore, the research team compared the 'grandchild care group' with the 'non-grandchild care group' after adjusting for multiple factors such as age, educational background, employment status, partner status, number of children and grandchildren, and health indicators.

The research team also focused their analysis on grandparents who care for their grandchildren as a form of family support, while leaving the parents as the primary caregivers, rather than on three-generation households where grandparents may play a role similar to that of 'substitute parents' for their grandchildren.

Cognitive function was assessed primarily through two tasks: a 'word retrieval task' and a 'word list recall task.' The former is a verbal fluency task in which participants were asked to name as many animals as possible in one minute. The latter is an episodic memory task in which participants were asked to recall 10 words either immediately or after a short delay, and was treated as an index combining immediate and delayed recall.

The research team reported that, 'Grandparents who care for their grandchildren performed better in verbal fluency and episodic memory than grandparents who do not care for their grandchildren.' Furthermore, when looking at changes over the follow-up period, they found that 'grandmothers in the group who care for their grandchildren showed a slower decline in verbal fluency and episodic memory.' On the other hand, while there was a difference in performance levels between the 'grandchild care group' and the 'non-grandchild care group' for grandfathers, there was no clear correlation between the decline in verbal fluency and episodic memory during the follow-up period.

In the study, the frequency of grandchildcare was converted into the number of days per year, and the frequency of involvement in each activity, such as overnight care, was also assessed separately. The research team concluded that the number of times and days grandchildcare was provided was not associated with higher cognitive function or a decline in grades during the follow-up period, concluding that 'the act of being involved in grandchildcare itself may be important.'

ELSA distinguishes between how parents interact with their grandchildren as follows:

・Keep overnight
- Caring for someone when they are sick
・Playing together・Spending leisure time
Help with homework
・Pick up and drop off
・Cooking meals
-Be there when you need

The research team reported that spending leisure time together and helping with homework were associated with both episodic memory and verbal fluency scores. However, the frequency and type of activities were not associated with the degree of decline in performance during the follow-up period. Furthermore, grandparents with higher cognitive function at the start of the study tended to be more likely to engage in activities with their grandchildren, such as spending leisure time together and helping with homework, and to engage in a greater variety of activities.

This study analyzed observational data, so it is not possible to completely distinguish whether caring for grandchildren improves cognitive function or whether 'people who are already healthy and have maintained cognitive function' are more likely to care for grandchildren. Furthermore, even when caring for grandchildren, differences in context, such as the degree of burden felt from caring for grandchildren, the level of motivation to care for grandchildren, and the presence or absence of support from family, may have an impact. The research team pointed out that existing large-scale surveys provide limited information, which is a challenge.