Becoming involved in raising a relative's child: reasons, caregiver motivations and pathways to informal kinship care

Abstract

Interviews with 207 informal kinship caregivers describe a dynamic process that influences how children come to live with a relative other than their parent. This process involves three overlapping and often simultaneously occurring factors: (1) the reasons the children's parents were unable to care for them; (2) the caregiver's motivation for assuming responsibility for the child; and (3) the pathways or routes that children took to the caregiver's home. Understanding these factors and their mutual and simultaneous influence is important as we shape policies, programs and interventions to support families as they consider whether to care for a relative's child and once they assume this responsibility.

Am I My Brother's Keeper: Adult Siblings Raising Younger Siblings

“…In a study of 207 informal relative placements (2% were adult siblings raising their younger siblings), researchers found that relatives' motivations were only one factor in a larger decisionmaking process that led children in need of care to a relative (Gleeson et al, 2009). Gleeson et al described the process in which children come to the care of a relative as often "unexpected" and, when unexpected, it was usually in response to an emergency.…”

The magnitude and timing of grandparental coresidence during childhood in the United States

“…We study these households separately because they form for different reasons. Whereas grandfamilies often result from parental substance use, incarceration, mental health issues, or death (e.g., Gleeson et al 2009), three-generation households generally arise from teen parenthood, parents' or grandparents' need for financial or instrumental support, and/or cultural preferences (Dunifon, Ziol-Guest, and Kopko 2014).…”

Male kinship caregivers: Do they differ from their female counterparts?

“…At other times men decide by choice that caregiving may be more desirable than working outside of the home (Campbell, 2010;Doucet, 2006), or they understand that the immense demands of caregiving may make working outside of the home unsustainable (Campbell, 2010). Of the men who feel they have little choice in assuming caregiver roles, many do so in response to feelings of obligation (Bullock, 2005(Bullock, , 2007Campbell, 2010;Gleeson et al, 2009). …”