Moscow University
Anthropology
Bulletin

An impact of the distance on grandparental childcare: A comparative study conducted in Russia, the United States, and Brazil

Semenova O.V., Butovskaya M.L.

Miklukho-Maklay Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology RAS, Leninsky av., 32a, Moscow, 119334, Russia

Semenova Olga Vladimirovna, Researcher; ORCID ID: 0000-0002-0015-243X; o.semenova@iea.ras.ru; Butovskaya Marina Lvovna, corresponding member RAS, prof., DSc.; ORCID ID: 0000-0002-5528-0519; marina.butovskaya@gmail.com

Abstract

Introduction. Before the advent of genetic methods for identifying paternity, a biological relatedness between a child and his patrilineal relatives could not be guaranteed. According to the theoretical predictions of the kin selection theory and the Hamilton rule, potential risks of conceiving a child by a daughter-in-law outside of a legitimate marriage can reduce the level of altruistic help from the father's parents. At the same time, childcare provided by the mother's parents, without carrying such risks, would be more adaptive, which means it is more likely that matrilineal altruistic help will be favored by the selection forces. Materials and methods. We tested this prediction on data collected in three cultural contexts of modern post-industrial societies. Quantitative data on the frequency of grandparental involvement in childcare were collected via a set of online surveys conducted in 2019 in Russia, the United States, and Brazil (N= 1531) and analyzed in R software. The current research was also focused on the analysis of the impact of the distance between households on the frequency of kinship assistance in childcare. Results. We found significant cross-cultural universalizes: 1) the distance between households negatively affects the frequency of help; 2) the care of the maternal grandparents is significantly higher than the care of the paternal grandparents. Discussion. In this study we found that the distance between households and family kin side have stable significant impact on the grandparental help cross-culturally. At the same time, it was shown that grandparental help in childcare is significantly reduced in Brazil compared to the other two studied countries. The phenomenon of reduced kin help in Brazil is an important finding and requires further research by evolutionary psychologists, anthropologists, and sociologists.

Keywords

urbanization; grandparents; three-generational family; post-industrial countries; maternal relatives; interdisciplinary research

DOI: 10.32521/2074-8132.2021.2.139-152

Цит.: Semenova O.V., Butovskaya M.L. An impact of the distance on grandparental childcare: A comparative study conducted in Russia, the United States, and Brazil // Moscow University Anthropology Bulletin (Vestnik Moskovskogo Universiteta. Seria XXIII. Antropologia), 2021; 2/2021; с. 139-152

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