The Grandchildren’s Received Affection Scale for Adolescents: Evidence for Internal Structure and Construct Validity in Portuguese Adolescents

The quality of the grandparent–grandchild relationship has been associated with positive developmental outcomes, including emotional regulation, also during adolescent years. However, available measures often lack psychometric evidence supporting their use with adolescent populations, including the Grandchildren’s Received Affection Scale, which is one of the most widely used measures of grandchildren’s perception of affection received from their grandparents. This study examined the psychometric properties of the Grandchildren’s Received Affection Scale for Adolescents (GRAS-A), including its internal structure, internal consistency, sex-based measurement invariance, and construct validity. A sample of 220 adolescents (Mage = 16.45; 53.2% girls) reported on residing with grandparents, the grandparent they were closest to, and the frequency of contact with their grandparents, and completed the GRAS-A and a measure of emotion regulation. Confirmatory factor analyses supported a 15-item four-factor model, and all subscales demonstrated at least acceptable internal consistency. The measurement model was invariant across boys and girls, who reported comparable levels of affection received from grandparents. GRAS-A scores were positively associated with cognitive reappraisal and frequency of contact with grandparents, and did not differ according to whether adolescents identified their maternal or paternal grandparents as the closest. These findings provide evidence for the reliability and validity of the GRAS-A as a measure of adolescents’ perceptions of affection received from grandparents, supporting its use in research on grandparent–grandchild relationships during adolescence.