As major actors in intergenerational co-parenting, grandparents shape co-parenting relationships through daily interactions, but the specific mechanisms of this have yet to be fully discussed. This study examines the impact of grandparents’ “authoritative resources” on intergenerational co-parenting relationships at the economic, ethical, and psychological levels. In addition, it explores the moderating effect of distinct intergenerational co-parenting dyads on this influence. The results show that grandparents’ psychological control over parents is negatively associated with the quality of intergenerational co-parenting relationships. In contrast, authoritative resources at the economic and ethical level have only positive associations with specific dimensions of intergenerational co-parenting relationships. Compared with co-parenting between mothers-in-law and daughters-in-law, the relationship in the mother/daughter co-parenting dyads is more positive. The impact of grandparents’ authoritative resources on intergenerational co-parenting relationships varies across the two types of intergenerational co-parenting dyad. The study concludes that, to enhance cooperation and intimacy in intergenerational co-parenting, grandparents need to develop authoritative resources with more cultural inclusiveness, and negotiate and adapt together with parents over the balance between cultural traditions and individualized lifestyles.
Chen et al. (Fri,) studied this question.