Reflections on the Experiences and Needs of Grandparents Caring for Their Grandchildren With a Substance Use Disorder

Schultz, Peter; Shirindi, Linda

doi:10.15270/55-4-757

Cited by 4 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 59 publications

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“…Furthermore, demographic (age, education), economic (regular salary, pension), and health-related factors (perceived health status, health consultation) in the unadjusted and adjusted models of the multivariate analysis of this study have been shown to influence the health conditions of these grandparents, and this assertion is in keeping with the findings of other studies [7,38]. In this context, this study found that among grandparents as caregivers, those aged 55+ years caring for male double orphans had greater odds of experiencing health conditions compared to those aged 25-34 years, and this result is supported by several studies [38,66]. This may be due to the fact that with the increasing age of older people, their bones tend to shrink in size and density, weakening them and making them more susceptible to fracture.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

“…After all, being a grandparent serving as a caregiver is highly demanding, making it difficult for the carer to tend to their own needs first. Also, studies have shown that providing care can have a severe impact on one's physical and mental health, leading to negative emotional effects, and poor treatment of the orphaned grandchildren they are caring for [66]. Also, other studies have mentioned that grandparents as primary caregivers stated depression, anxiety, changes in appetite (such as eating too much or too little), hypertension, cardiovascular disease, and chronic fatigue as health conditions they were suffering from as a result of attending to the needs of their orphaned grandchildren.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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“Health Outcomes of Grandparents Caring for Double Orphans in South Africa”: What Are the Determinants?

Likoko,

Akokuwebe,

Osuafor

et al. 2023

IJERPH

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In the 21st century, grandparenthood is a significant phenomenon in the fields of demography, gerontology, and sociology. It is mainly explored in the context of ageing, as it is poised to become one of the most significant demographic phenomena and social issues in contemporary South Africa. Therefore, this study examined the determinants associated with grandparents who are parenting as caregivers and the health challenges they are exposed to as caregivers. The National Income Dynamics Study (NIDS) Wave 5 dataset was utilised, and a total of 302,476 grandparents aged 25 years and older, who were reported to be primary caregivers of double orphans, were included in the analysis. Both bivariate and multivariate binary logistic regressions were performed to determine the predictors of the determinants of grandparents parenting as caregivers and their health challenges in South Africa. Estimated odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were used, and the threshold for statistical significance was established at ρ < 0.05. A majority of the male and female grandparent caregivers were aged 24–34 years, were Black Africans (69.8%), had secondary education (46.9%), reported health challenges (HC) (59.7%), with 26.4% reporting headaches in the last 30 days. Logistic regression revealed that grandparent caregivers aged 55–64 years were 8.9 times more likely to report health challenges compared to those aged 25–34 years. Non-Black African grandparent caregivers were found to be 0.61 times less likely to report health challenges, compared to Black African grandparent caregivers. Those with perceived poor health status were 3.3 times more likely to report health challenges, compared to those with excellent perceived health status. Therefore, there is an urgent need to redesign health interventions to address these health burdens among grandparent caregivers and to take cognisance of providing economic and social support for these vulnerable populations.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“Health Outcomes of Grandparents Caring for Double Orphans in South Africa”: What Are the Determinants?

Likoko,

Akokuwebe,

Osuafor

et al. 2023

IJERPH

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…This has implications in terms of their health as many of the caregivers struggle with health ailments as they get older. This implies that caregiving responsibilities can be impacted negatively as much of the attention can be diverted to self-care as health issues become prominent on the aging caregivers (Schultz & Shirindi, 2019).…”

Section: Demographic Information Of Caregiversmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The care needed by orphans is even extremely dire in rural and poor communities in South Africa as resources needed to care for the orphans remain scarce for meeting their basic needs resulting in stunted growth (Bridgman, 2021). Research has also found that most of the orphans in rural communities in South Africa are under the care of older women, mostly grandmothers who are themselves vulnerable to multiple bio-psychosocial and economic challenges and struggle to meet adequately the needs of the new generation of orphans (Lee, Choi & Clarkson-Henderix, 2016; Schultz & Shirindi, 2019). This then created an impetus to investigate and understand deeply the bio-psychosocial and economic challenges experienced by women in rural areas in Alice in the eastern Cape Province.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Women’s Burden of Caring for Orphans: The bio-psychosocial and economic challenges for caregivers in a rural community in South Africa

Dube

2021

TSSJ

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The practical activity of orphan-care in Social Work has received unquestionable and resounding globally attention. However, the skewed care of orphans towards women and its associated bio-psychosocial and economic challenges in the rural communities deserves special investigation and analysis. This article discusses women’s burden of orphan-care and associated bio-psychosocial and economic challenges experienced by carers in Alice in the Eastern Cape Province in South Africa. Using a qualitative research approach and voluntary purposive sampling to ensure that carers of orphans were engaged in the study, individual face-to-face interviews were conducted to engage twenty caregivers. Data were analysed thematically and backed by existing literature. The findings showed that women caregivers of orphans experienced a plethora of bio-psychosocial and economic issues when caring for orphans in the rural communities. The article makes relevant recommendations for the profession of Social Work and stakeholders of orphan-care.

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“…Lee and Blitz (2016) suggest that grandparents who are raising grandchildren that are using substances struggle with stressful demands created by the misconduct of their grandchildren. In a study conducted within five provinces in South Africa including Eastern Cape, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo and the Western Cape, Schultz and Shirindi (2019) discovered that the majority of grandparents expressed that they struggled with the stressful demands created by their grandchildren's misconduct and this negatively impacted their emotional and physical wellbeing. The study further found that grandparents experienced financial challenges as their grandchildren demanded money from them in addition to household expenses (Schultz and Shirindi, 2019).…”

Section: Skip Generation Carementioning

confidence: 99%

Unpacking the social constructions of motherhood: exploring mother presence among young African women.

Majola

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The experience of pregnancy and childbirth are life changing for women. In most African societies, childcare is often a woman’s responsibility. The motherhood journey of a young woman may be significantly impacted by the presence and/or absence of a biological mother. The presence of a biological mother is regarded as important in all stages of development, particularly for female children. However, mothers are absent for a number of reasons including their death. The absence of a biological mother exposes children to various challenges, including poverty, poor educational attainments and health issues. A growing body of research in South Africa has focused on father absence; however, few has explored mother absence and the implications this has on children. Therefore, this study aimed to unpack the meaning of motherhood as socially constructed by young African women in a township of KwaZulu-Natal province. The study sought to explore the perspectives and experiences of young women, taking into consideration the presence and/or absence of a biological mother. A qualitative research methodology was employed and data was obtained through telephonic interviews with 20 young women who grew up living with the presence of their biological mothers as well as 20 young women who grew up in the absence of their biological mothers. Young women were recruited using purposive and snowball sampling. The findings of the study suggest that the presence of a biological mother was significant for women who fell pregnant at a young age. Even though grandmothers and extended family members were actively supporting young women who had absent mothers, the presence of a biological mother was deemed essential for women. The transition from girlhood to motherhood was accompanied by numerous implications for young women. Financial challenges stemming from unemployment, poor economic backgrounds and father absence affected young mothers. This negatively impacted education and career aspiration of certain young women. The study recommends the involvement of families, government and private stakeholders in supporting young mothers. This can be achieved by enhancing family support programmes within communities. Furthermore, the promotion of Small, Medium and Micro Enterprises (SMMEs) is deemed important for the reduction of high rates of unemployment among young women in South Africa.

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Reflections on the Experiences and Needs of Grandparents Caring for Their Grandchildren With a Substance Use Disorder

Cited by 4 publications

References 59 publications

“Health Outcomes of Grandparents Caring for Double Orphans in South Africa”: What Are the Determinants?

“Health Outcomes of Grandparents Caring for Double Orphans in South Africa”: What Are the Determinants?

Women’s Burden of Caring for Orphans: The bio-psychosocial and economic challenges for caregivers in a rural community in South Africa

Unpacking the social constructions of motherhood: exploring mother presence among young African women.

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