HAIFA, Israel, March 30 (UPI) -- Eventually, grandparents relate to their adopted grandchildren just as they do to biological grandchildren, says a study of Israeli grandparents.
University of Haifa School of Social Work researchers identified five stages in the development of emotional relationships between grandparents and their adopted grandchildren.
In the first stage, a grandparent views his or her adopted grandchild as a solution to the anguish caused by children not being able to have children. Next:
-- the grandparent rationalizes and convinces himself that his children have saved a child that may otherwise have been left not cared for.
-- the grandparent feels a superficial emotional connection.
-- the grandparent accepts the child as in integral part of the multi-generational family.
In the final stage, grandparents begin to express concern that when their adopted grandchild turns 18, he or she will begin to search for a biological family and abandon the adoptive family. This last stage demonstrates that the grandparents see the adopted grandchild as an inseparable member of the family, according to the researchers.
