The study, which involved 7,500 older adults, established that those who provided over 60 hours of care per month were more likely to suffer from depression and other negative health effects
The research, which was carried out as part of the Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (Tilda) project, identified a number of factors which may increase or decrease a grandparent's susceptibility to depression if working in a care-provider role.
Results indicate that older adults who participate in social and leisure activities or have a third-level education were less likely to experience negative health effects as a result of caring for their grandchildren.
Commenting on the findings, epidemiology research fellow Christine McGarrigle said: "This increase in depressive symptoms was seen in the lower educational attainment group."
In conjunction with this, researcher discovered that grandparents with third-level qualifications were unlikely to provide more than 60 hours of care per month, a figure which 20% of those surveyed committed to on a monthly basis.
Speaking out about the findings, head of advocacy for Age Action charity, Justin Moran, said: "Many older people get great fulfilment from looking after their grandchildren, building relationships with them and supporting their adult children. But they need to be able to say no."
Reinforcing the results released by Tilda today, MummyPages research recently established that 48% of working mums rely on the generosity of grandparents and other family members to bridge the childcare gap while 90% of mums manage their child’s half term, Easter and Christmas holidays with the help of grandparents and other relatives.
Acknowledging that the older generation are likely to experience a deterioration in heath, Justin feels that this should be taken into account saying: "They may need to reduce the amount of childcare they provide or to stop altogether."
Similarly, Mum-in-Residence for MummyPages, Laura Haugh,asserts "The advice we would give to both parents and grandparents is to respect the boundaries on both sides, it is a good idea for parents and grandparents to sit down together and outline some ground rules such as when the childcare duties starts and ends, the number of hours, pay and whether or not expenses will be covered."
In order to ensure the welfare of older family members are a priority, Laura goes to say: "Parents need to be careful not to overburden their grandparents whose energy levels and health may not be as good as they used to be."
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The findings of this study will be presented at an international conference at Syracuse University in New York this summer.
