Poverty and Economic Pressure, Financial Assistance, and Children’s Behavioral Health in Kinship Care

Xu, Yanfeng; Bright, Charlotte Lyn; Barth, Richard P.; Ahn, Haksoon

doi:10.1177/1077559520926568

Cited by 18 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 41 publications

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“…For example, as part of the policies on childcare, modalities on parent–caregiver relationships could be spelled out as well as plans for child welfare workers to supervise and regularly monitor the welfare of children in kinship care. Similar to other studies (Montserrat, 2014; Xu, Bright, Ahn, Huang, & Shaw, 2020; Xu, Bright, Barth, & Ahn, 2020), it has been revealed that the training of kinship caregivers is key to ensuring the welfare of children in care. The call by young people in this study to include the training in childcare policies suggests the lack of adequate knowledge and skills among the caregivers in meeting the needs of children in kinship care.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 76%

Regulating the traditional kinship care practice in Ghana: Reflections from young people with kinship care experience

Abdullah

Cudjoe

Young

et al. 2021

Child

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Background Kinship care has become a favourable alternative care option for orphans and vulnerable children without adequate parental care in Ghana. However, kinship care practices in Ghana are considered informal cultural practices without formal regulations. The absence of formal regulations could have consequences on the health and development of children due to the lack of proper supervision and empirical assessment of children's needs. In line with recent policy discussions on mechanisms to regulate informal kinship care practices, this study aimed to identify how the State could be involved in improving kinship care experience for children. Methods Qualitative in‐depth interviews were conducted with 22 young persons (aged 18–23) who had been received into kinship care to share their experiences on how the State could be involved in improving kinship care experience for children. Narratives from the young people were analysed following the constructivist grounded theory approach. Results Introduction of a welfare scheme for kinship caregivers, policy on child care, provision of start‐up capital and training for caregivers, were measures suggested by the young people to improve kinship care practice. Providing start‐up capital to kinship caregivers was identified to mitigate caregivers' unemployment challenges, which could have ripple effects on the well‐being of children by escalating caregiver stress. Conclusion The study's findings suggest that the State has a significant role to ensure that caregivers are equipped with the needed resources to provide adequate care for children. Regulating kinship care practices should embrace a strength‐based empowerment model that builds on the capacity of the caregivers to ensure better outcomes for children. Studies that explore the views of policy makers and caregivers in a larger sample may yield promising results to complement the current findings.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 76%

Regulating the traditional kinship care practice in Ghana: Reflections from young people with kinship care experience

Abdullah

Cudjoe

Young

et al. 2021

Child

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“…This limitation may not be overcome because there is no representative sampling frame for grandparent kinship providers, as previous studies also used a convenience sampling method ( Lee et al, 2016 ). Previous studies (e.g., Xu, Bright, Barth et al, 2020 ) based on the second National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being (NSCAW II), a nationally representative study, found that kinship caregivers’ average age was 50 years old, 91.76 % were female, about half were married, and 32 % had high school or more education, 43.5 % were employed, and 52 % lived below the federal poverty line. Because of the nature of a convenience sample and an online survey, selection bias may exist, which may lead to a skewed sample.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In the United States, about 7,249,122 grandparents live with their own grandchildren under 18 years old, and 34.8 % of them are responsible for grandchildren ( United States Census Bureau, 2012-2016 ). Grandparent kinship providers fall into this most vulnerable population mostly because of their age (e.g., 50 years), low socioeconomic status (e.g., 52 % lived below the poverty line), being a minority (e.g., 43.1 % minority), and having limited access to resources and support (e.g., received fewer financial support, parenting training, peer support groups, respite care support than foster parents; Sakai, Lin, & Flores, 2011 ; Xu, Bright, Barth, & Ahn, 2020 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Material hardship and parenting stress among grandparent kinship providers during the COVID-19 pandemic: The mediating role of grandparents’ mental health

Levkoff

et al. 2020

Child Abuse & Neglect

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Background The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the vulnerability of many families, including grandparent kinship families, to deal with a health/economic crisis. The fear of COVID-19 plus stay-at-home orders have increased individuals’ psychological distress. Moreover, school closures and homeschooling further increased parenting stress among caregivers. Objectives This study examined the relationship between material hardship and parenting stress among grandparent kinship providers, and assessed grandparents’ mental health as a potential mediator to this relationship during the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States. Participants and setting Grandparent kinship providers (N = 362) that took primary care of their grandchildren participated in a cross-sectional survey via Qualtrics Panels in June 2020 in the United States. Methods Descriptive and bivariate analyses, binary logistic regression, and mediation analyses were conducted using STATA 15.0. Results Suffering material hardship was significantly associated with higher odds of experiencing parenting stress among grandparent kinship providers, and grandparents’ mental health partially mediated this association. Conclusions Addressing material and mental health needs among grandparent kinship providers is critical to decreasing their parenting stress.

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“…Mental health problems, such as depression and anxiety, are predicted to increase under the COVID-19 circumstance, particularly for those who have a history of mental health issues (Holmes et al, 2020). Similarly, one-third or more kinship families live below the federal poverty line (Ehrle & Geen, 2002;Y. Xu et al, 2021), and the pandemic has exacerbated financial hardship of these families.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Risk and protective factors associated with grandparent kinship caregivers' psychological distress in COVID‐19: Kinship license status as a moderator

Jedwab

et al. 2021

Child & Family Social Work

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COVID‐19 and its related policy measures have increased the psychological distress of individuals, including grandparent kinship caregivers. Guided by the Resilience Model of Family Stress, Adjustment, and Adaptation, this study examines relationships between material hardship, parenting stress, social support, resilience and psychological distress of grandparent kinship caregivers during the COVID‐19 pandemic, as well as the moderating role of kinship license status on these relationships. Kinship care licensing is a prerequisite to receiving financial assistance and other supporting services from the government. We administered a cross‐sectional survey of grandparent kinship caregivers (N = 362) in the United States. Logistic regression results indicated that material hardship was associated with higher odds of experiencing psychological distress, whereas resilience and social support were associated with lower odds. Kinship license status moderated the relationships of social support and resilience with psychological distress. Results suggest that additional emergency funds and more tailored financial services should be provided to meet material needs, and interventions with a focus on resilience and social support are particularly needed. The moderating effects of license status indicate that some interventions should be specifically implemented among licensed kinship caregivers, whereas parallel services should be provided to kinship caregivers regardless of their license status.

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Poverty and Economic Pressure, Financial Assistance, and Children’s Behavioral Health in Kinship Care

Cited by 18 publications

References 41 publications

Regulating the traditional kinship care practice in Ghana: Reflections from young people with kinship care experience

Regulating the traditional kinship care practice in Ghana: Reflections from young people with kinship care experience

Material hardship and parenting stress among grandparent kinship providers during the COVID-19 pandemic: The mediating role of grandparents’ mental health

Risk and protective factors associated with grandparent kinship caregivers' psychological distress in COVID‐19: Kinship license status as a moderator

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