grandparent-grandchild relationship and older adults’ life satisfaction

Background and aim: aging population is increasing progressively. therefore, determining factors behind their life satisfaction is among research priorities. the present study aimed to evaluate the correlation of grandparent-grandchild relationship and older adults’ life satisfaction.methods: this cross-sectional descriptive-correlational study was done on 377 older adults who were 60 years of age or older and lived in kashan, iran. participants were selected via multistage sampling. a researcher-made questionnaire was used for the assessment of grandparent-grandchild relationship and life satisfaction. collected data were entered into the spss software (v. 23.0) and analyzed by running the pearson correlation and multiple linear regression analyses.results: participants aged 70.24 ± 8.20, on average, and were mostly female (62%). the mean scores of the association, emotional, and functional attachment dimensions of grandparent-grandchild relationship were 56.81 ± 13.18, 77.75 ± 16.64, and 68.22 ± 15.71, respectively. moreover, the mean of life satisfaction was 81.40 ± 17.01. life satisfaction was positively correlated with the association, emotional, and functional attachments (r = 0.31, 0.41, 0.35, respectively; p < 0.001). moreover, regression analysis illustrated that the emotional and functional attachments significantly predicted 20% of the total variance of life satisfaction (p < 0.001). the strongest predictor of life satisfaction was emotional attachment.conclusions: grandparent-grandchild relationship can significantly improve older adults’ life satisfaction. therefore, strategies are needed to strengthen this relationship.