The present study examines emotional closeness between French grandparents and their emerging adult grandchildren. The present study explores facets of the grandparent–grandchild relationship that have not been extensively investigated. It highlights the importance of the grandchildren’s relationship with their grandparents as they reach adulthood and the facets of intergenerational emotional closeness during this period of transition. Semi-structured interviews were conducted individually with 13 grandparents and their emerging adult grandchildren. Four themes were extracted from the thematic analysis of the interviews (emotional bonding; sharing identity, values, and personality; emotional worries and concerns about illness and death; adult role acquisition). The study reveals the depth of the grandparent-emerging adult–grandchild relationship, which is a source not only of love, support, and companionship in their daily life, but also of worries about the future. This study also identifies some hitherto unexplored facets that demonstrate the complexity of this relationship as grandchildren become adults.

本研究调查了法国祖父母和他们正在成长的成年孙辈之间的情感亲密度。本研究探讨了尚未被广泛调查的祖父母-孙子女关系的各个方面。它强调了孙辈在成年后与祖父母之间关系的重要性，以及在这一过渡时期代际情感亲近的各个方面。对 13 位祖父母和他们即将成年的孙辈分别进行了半结构化访谈。从访谈的主题分析中提取了四个主题（情感纽带；分享身份、价值观和个性；对疾病和死亡的情感担忧和担忧；成人角色获得）。该研究揭示了祖父母-新兴成人-孙子关系的深度，这不仅是他们日常生活中爱、支持和陪伴的源泉，也是对未来的担忧。这项研究还确定了一些迄今为止尚未探索的方面，这些方面证明了随着孙辈长大成人，这种关系的复杂性。