Grandparenting and participation in civil society

In this chapter, Jennifer May Hampton and Esther Muddiman turn their attention to a lifecourse event that affects older members of the family through focusing on how becoming a grandparent both hinders and fosters civic participation.  Using a combination of panel data from the Understanding Society survey and interview data with grandparents, they show that levels of civic participation, and especially volunteering, vary according to the grandparent’s employment status. In addition to their own engagement in civil society, grandparents also play an important part in the intergenerational transmission of what might be seen as ‘civic virtues’.