Intergenerational Relationships and Aging Anxiety among Emerging Adults in Turkey

Abstract

Recent trends in Turkey indicate that in the near future a considerable percentage of the population will be over the age of 65. One consequence of this demographic development is that grandparents and grandchildren may potentially have more contact with each other as they both age across the life course. As intergenerational contact will become more frequent and extend for a longer period of time, it is important to investigate the influence that grandparents have on their grandchild. This study investigates the relationship between intergenerational contact, emotional closeness and grandparents' influence on grandchildren's aging anxiety. Results indicated that perceptions of emotional closeness was influenced by various components of grandparent-grandchild interaction, including physical proximity, contact medium, and contact quality. Grandchild aging anxiety was related to both contact quality, contact frequency, and emotional closeness, but only for the domains of psychological concerns and fear of old people. Results are discussed in the context of both intergenerational influence and Turkish culture.