Discontinuity of grandparent-grandchild relationships has been largely overlooked in social science research, despite the fact that the salience of the grandparent grandchild attachment bond is the subject of considerable discussion. This article reports the results of an exploratory study of grandparent-grandchild contact loss, by means of a survey of the core membership of five “grandparent rights” groups across Canada. As reflected in the particular concerns of this membership, there are four primary circumstances associated with grandparent loss of contact with grandchildren: parental divorce, conflict with both parents, death of adult child, and stepparent adoption following remarriage. Grandparents whose adult children are noncustodial parents (mostly paternal grandparents) are at high risk for contactloss, and adult children-in-law appear to be the primary mediators in the ongoing grandparent-grandchild relationship. Disrupted grandchild access is seen as having profound negative consequences for grandparents, and this has important implications for socio-legal policy and therapeutic practice.

This paper presents a typology of older parents caring for adult offspring with lifelong disabilities, as well as barriers to residential planning from the perspectives of older parents caring for adult offspring with lifelong disabilities. Project participants included 54 older parents and one grandparent (all aged 60+). Information was collected via focus groups in six provinces across Canada. Transcripts were analysed using different analytical procedures, including pattern identification, clustering of conceptual groupings, identification of relationships between variables, constant comparisons, and theoretical memos. Older parents' reluctance to engage in the planning of future living options was found to be multi-factorial and linked to the macro- and micro-systems within which these families were embedded.