Background: 

More and more parents in Germany are becoming grandparents later in life—or not at all. 

The reasons for this include a declining birth rate and the increasing age at which the first (grand)child is born. 

When a normative life event fails to materialize, it can be stressful. Research on involuntary childlessness has shown that, for example, an unfulfilled desire to have children can be associated with significant psychological distress.

How the absence of grandchildren is experienced by those affected, whether the topic of “grandchildren” plays a role in their own lives, and whether changes in daily life or well-being occur have hardly been studied to date. 

These are precisely the questions we aim to explore in our study. We would like to understand how you feel about not being a “grandma” or “grandpa.” 

Objective of the Study

The findings from this study are intended to help shed light on the potential consequences faced by people without grandchildren and to bring this topic more into the mainstream of society. The consequences of not having grandchildren can be both positive and negative. In the long term, we hope to support the development and promotion of preventive measures to better address any potential challenges that may arise from not having grandchildren in the future.