ERIC Number: EJ1095423
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2015
Pages: 12
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0146-3934
EISSN: N/A
College Students: Journaling about Their Intergenerational Relationships with Their Living and Deceased Grandparents
Blinn-Pike, Lynn; McCaslin, Brianna
College Student Journal, v49 n4 p475-486 Win 2015
The problem addressed in this study had two parts: a) which categories of grandparent(s) were the most frequently written about when college females are asked to write journals in order to express their feelings about their grandparents in their own words; and b) what is the thematic content of their journals about the various categories of grandparents? The method involved twenty-five undergraduate females who volunteered to keep journals about their feelings toward their living and/or deceased and maternal and/or paternal grandparent(s) for one semester. The choices of whom and what to write about were open-ended in order to explore an under-utilized qualitative and narrative-based approach to studying grandchild grandparent relationships, from the grandchild's perspective. The results demonstrate that maternal grandparents, living or deceased were most frequently written about. Thematically, the journals demonstrated a contrast between the physical activities they shared and enjoyed with their grandparents and the anticipated loneliness they would feel upon their grandparents' deaths. It was concluded that additional research is needed on the impact a) of changing relationships with their grandparents on college students' academic and social lives, and b) on college students of efforts to help them refocus and redefine their intergenerational relationships with their grandparents.
Descriptors: Journal Writing, Physical Activities, Death, Grandparents, Psychological Patterns, Student Attitudes, Females, Undergraduate Students, Qualitative Research, Parent Child Relationship, Social Life
Project Innovation, Inc. P.O. Box 8508 Spring Hill Station, Mobile, AL 36689-0508. Tel: 251-343-1878; Fax: 251-343-1878; Web site: http://www.projectinnovation.biz/csj.html
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A