Psychohistory Forum

Clio’s Psyche Call for Papers:
Reflections on Grandparenthood: Meanings, Joys, and Sorrows

(Articles are to be 300–1,000 words including a brief abstract, keywords,
& short biography of the author.)
Due Date: February 28, 2026, for the Spring 2026 issue

Dear Colleagues,

Grandparenthood is a profound life experience, carrying both joy and responsibility. It can mean the delight of welcoming new life, transmitting culture, and watching a new generation grow, while also involving worry, health challenges, and difficult family dynamics. In Clio’s Psyche we seek personalized first-person accounts, case studies, and psychohistorical reflections that illuminate the many dimensions of this role.

Grandparenthood matters not only as a family role but as a psychohistorical bridge, carrying memory, values, and intergenerational resilience across time while shaping the identities of both elders and the young.

Possible in-depth and personalized topics to write about include:

  • How does or did it feel to become a grandparent?
  • What meanings does grandparenthood bring to your life stage, identity, or sense of legacy?
  • How does grandparenthood change your self-image and daily life?
  • What are the joys of grandparenting — play, teaching, storytelling, cultural or religious transmission?
  • What are the sorrows — distance, estrangement, loss, or health/economic struggles?
  • Have you moved, or considered moving, to be closer to grandchildren?
  • How is grandparenthood different for men and women, and how are those roles shifting today?
  • How is grandparenthood experienced in your ethnic, racial, class, or religious group?
  • What are the worries and responsibilities that grandparents face?
  • What are the parental differences between parents and their parents?
  • How do children and grandchildren experience their grandparents — whether with gratitude, ambivalence, or disappointment?
  • What is it like for children raised primarily by a grandparent (the “skipped-generation” household)?
  • What happens when grandparents become the primary caregivers (due to divorce, illness, migration, addiction, or foster care)?
  • What happens when grandparents are excluded from their grandchildren’s lives?
  • How do digital technologies (FaceTime, texting, social media) reshape the grandparent–grandchild bond?
  • Case studies of cultural or policy impact, such as China’s one-child policy and its effect on grandparenting.
  • Studies of the ambivalence of women who leave their children for their mothers to raise while they work in richer countries.
  • Attachment issues in children raised with dual mothering (parent plus grandparent).
  • Stories of transmitting intergenerational trauma or resilience — through the grandparent role.
  • Reflections of adults who never became grandparents: what meanings does this absence hold?
  • Reviews of scholarly books, movies, or television programs on grandparenting.
  • Clinical or psychohistorical case studies of how grandparental relationships shape personality, values, or resilience.
  • The role of grandparents in diasporic, refugee, or immigrant families: continuity, nostalgia, and survival.
  • Creative submissions: memoirs, poetry, or narratives of grandparenthood across cultures and history.

We seek articles of 300–1,000 words, including your title, author name with affiliation, a 35–50-word abstract, 7–10 keywords, and your brief biography (3–4 sentences) ending with your email address. Send documents in Microsoft Word (*.docx or .doc) format by January 15, 2026, via form below. We will also consider one outstanding 3,000-word symposium article provided we receive it by November 15, 2025, so that responses may be solicited.

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It is the style of our scholarly journal to publish thought-provoking, clearly written articles usually based upon psychoanalytic/psychological insight and developed with examples from history, current events, and the human experience. We are open to all psychological and psychohistorical approaches and prefer personalized articles without excessive terminology or jargon. References are few and primarily for direct quotes, in our modified APA style. Submissions deemed suitable are anonymously peer-reviewed in our double-blind system. Once you have submitted your article, please do not make further edits until returned to you if necessary.

For those unfamiliar with Clio’s Psyche and its sponsor, the Psychohistory Forum, our journal has just completed its 31st year of publication. The Forum, founded 43 years ago, brings together academics, therapists, and laypeople for regular scholarly meetings, both virtually and occasionally in Manhattan. For information on our publication and back issues, visit cliospsyche.org/archives. For style guidelines, see cliospsyche.org/guidelines. More information may also be found at psychohistoryforum.com and psychobiographyforum.com.

Sincerely,

Paul H. Elovitz, PhD, historian, research psychoanalyst, online professor, editor-in-chief of Clio’s Psyche, founder and director of the Psychohistory Forum, and author of The Making of Psychohistory: Origins, Controversies, and Pioneering Contributors (Routledge, 2018)
E-mail: cliospsycheeditor@gmail.com

Inna Rozentsvit, MD, PhD, MBA, MSciEd, associate editor of Clio’s Psyche and associate director of the Psychohistory Forum, neurologist, neurodiversity & neurorehabilitation specialist, psychoanalyst, and psychohistorian
E-mail: innarozentsvit@gmail.com