GRANDPARENTS who lose contact with their grandchildren when parents divorce suffer a form of bereavement and ill health, according to Dr Linda Drew and Professor Peter Smith of Goldsmiths College, London.
Based on interviews with 146 members of the Grandparents’ Federation, 86 of whom had lost contact through divorce, Dr Drew said paternal grandparents were most likely to lose contact and that this often caused their mental and physical health to deteriorate.
Dr Drew said: “Research shows that grandparents are a source of emotional stability to children when families break up, but hey also benefit from maintaining contact, that their needs have also to be considered in family breakdown and by outside agencies.”
