Role Markers of Adulthood and Young Adults' Ties to Grandparents.

This study investigates the implications of residential independence, enrollment in postsecondary education, employment, marital status, and parenthood for contact with, and closeness to, grandparents. Data come from 1,507 young adults interviewed in Wave 3 of the National Survey of Families and Households. Findings suggest that adult roles can be either negatively or positively associated with grandparent-grandchild ties, depending on specific configurations among such factors as the adult role in question, a particular dimension of intergenerational solidarity, lineage, and grandchild's and grandparent's gender. Young adults' ties to parents can mediate the adverse consequences of residential independence for contact with grandparents.