Objectives. Although the consequences of parental divorce for specific family relationships
are increasingly studied, it remains unexplored how parental divorce reverberates through the
larger family network, impacting not only the relationships with and between parents and their
children, but also with grandparents. This study aims to unravel how three-generational, bilateral
contact patterns manifest in the larger family network and how they differ when
families experienced parental divorce.
Methods. 4,436 families from the multi-actor Divorce in Flanders data with 1-5 family
members (one child, father, mother, and paternal and maternal grandparents) reporting on
contact with 1-7 family members are analyzed using a Social Relations Model.
Results. Results show that parents have less frequent contact with their parents-in-law
than with their own parents, indicating a clear fault line, which is deeper in divorced families.
Mothers – compared to fathers – have more contact with their own parents, but fathers –
compared to mothers – do not have more contact with their in-laws. Divorced fathers have
more frequent contact with their own parents compared to non-divorced fathers. Less frequent
contact with paternal (maternal) grandparents co-exists with more frequent contact with
maternal (paternal) grandparents, indicating substitution, which is not stronger in divorced
families.
Discussion. The network approach enabled uncovering resilient strategies, i.e.,
substitution, in families experiencing an imbalance in paternal and maternal grandparental
contact. The results emphasized the significant role of grandparents following divorce,
particularly in the case of fathers, who appear to place greater reliance on maintaining contact
with their parents after divorce.