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Grandparents providing care for grandchildren: implications for economic preparation for later life in South Korea

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 November 2016

HYE JIN KIM ,
TRACEY A. LAPIERRE  and
ROSEMARY CHAPIN
HYE JIN KIM*
Affiliation:
School of Social Welfare, University of Kansas, Lawrence, USA.
TRACEY A. LAPIERRE
Affiliation:
Department of Sociology, University of Kansas, Lawrence, USA.
ROSEMARY CHAPIN
Affiliation:
School of Social Welfare, University of Kansas, Lawrence, USA.
*
Address for correspondence: Hye Jin Kim, School of Social Welfare, University of Kansas, 1545 Lilac Lane, Lawrence, KS 66044, USA E-mail: [email protected]
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Abstract

Mounting concern about economic preparation for later life combined with a growing number of grandparents providing grandchild care is fuelling increased interest in these topics in Korea. However, few studies have evaluated the relationship between providing care to grandchildren and economic behaviour. Guided by intergenerational exchange theory, this paper analyses the relationships between providing grandchild care and monetary compensation for care, and economic preparation for later life. Data come from a sub-sample of 2,599 grandmothers in the Korean Retirement and Income Study who have a grandchild under the age of ten, 279 of whom report providing regular care to grandchildren. Controlling for age, education, marital status and household income, the average amount of grandchild care provided per week is a significant negative predictor of economic preparation for later life among grandmothers. However, receiving financial compensation for providing grandchild care is not significantly related to economic preparation and did not mediate or moderate the relationship between amount of care provided and economic preparation. The implications of these findings and limitations of this study are also discussed.

Keywords

grandmothersgrandchild careintergenerational exchangeeconomic preparation for later life
Type
Articles
Information
Ageing & Society , Volume 38 , Issue 4 , April 2018 , pp. 676 - 699
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2016 

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