SELF-REGULATION AND PROSOCIAL DEVELOPMENT IN GRANDPARENT CARE AFTER PARENTAL DIVORCE: A CASE STUDY

Abstract

Early childhood social-emotional development may become especially vulnerable when parental divorce is followed by a transfer of daily caregiving to grandparents. This study examined self-regulation and prosocial development in a five-year-old child raised primarily by a grandmother after parental divorce. A qualitative single-case study was conducted in June 2026 using naturalistic observation, semi-structured interviews with the grandmother and a neighboring informant, and supporting documentation. Data were organized through reduction, display, and conclusion verification, with source and technique triangulation and member checking. Findings indicated an uneven, context-dependent profile: responsibility and discipline were comparatively stronger in familiar household routines, whereas waiting for turns became unstable when gratification was delayed. Empathy and helping were more visible toward close family members, while sharing, sustained cooperation, and conflict-free peer interaction were less stable beyond the immediate family circle. The case contributes a competency-level, cross-context account showing that strengths rehearsed in predictable family routines may not automatically generalize to peer situations. The pattern should not be attributed to divorce alone; it was interpreted in relation to family reorganization, caregiving consistency, caregiver capacity, parent contact, and opportunities for peer socialization. Evidence from the case supports cautious, evidence-informed consideration of coordinated home-school routines to scaffold waiting, sharing, cooperative play, and emotion regulation; these applications require further testing because systematic teacher observations were not included. Future multi-case and longitudinal studies should examine variation across grandparent-care arrangements.