Grandparents as Hubs Linking Generations in Tehran, Iran: A Sociological Study of Quality of Life

The paper explores how changes are appearing in gerontology in Iran in recent years. For this reason, a new window must be opened to survey the ageing population ___ transforming into grandparents with new roles and functions. The study of ageing and grandparenting is finding its importance as the number of ageing population is increasing unprecedentedly with special reference to Iran. As ageing is a new experience for developing countries such as Iran, more surveys need to be conducted on the issue to assess the change in quality of life of the ageing people in order to reach appropriate solutions. Due to rapid social change, the socio-emotional context of ageing is worth appraising. Many families find that grandparents living to seventy and beyond, require practical, emotional and financial care that can be more complicated than raising their own children. The paper also explores how grandparents today face conflicting norms and expectations about their roles. To conduct the present survey, some 452 ageing women and men of 60 years of age and over were interviewed through designed questionnaires in Tehran City.

Keywords: Grandparents, Generation, Gerontology, Longevity, Quality of life