The Health of African American Grandmothers Raising Grandchildren: A Growing Social Problem

Abstract

The study explored the experiences of African-American grandmothers residing in rural communities caring for their grandchildren, while suffering from chronic health issues. The research examined their physical and emotional health, physical functioning, well-being, social support, and resources of these grandmothers from a Family Development approach. Given the trends of providing care for a grandchild, it is widely recognized that caregivers may experience stress, burden, and the disruption of their well-being and social activities as well as the pressure associated with caregiving roles, responsibilities, and tasks. The grandmothers reported challenges that included stressors such as health issues, financial difficulties, limited support, transportation difficulties, and disruption in social activities. A major finding was that the grandmother’s health did not negatively impact their ability to care for their grandchildren.

Professional Quality of Life of Foster and Kinship Carers in Australia, United Kingdom, and the United States: A Scoping Review

“…It was also reported that couple parenting stress in foster families was related to the perceptions of both parent and their partners regarding their marriage and the co-parenting relationship ( Richardson & Futris, 2019 ). In addition, research revealed a variety of factors associated with caring stress including advanced age, poor overall health, and limited social life among grandparent carers ( Sprang et al, 2015 ; Woods, 2021 ).…”

“…A few US studies focused on sociopolitical factors associated with carer stress emphasized poor governance and inadequate access to primary and specialty services for children and young people in care ( E.R. Barnett et al, 2017 ; Schneiderman et al, 2012 ; White et al, 2021 ; Woods, 2021 ), resulting in an unstable support system for carers ( Barrett et al, 2021 ). Although training was provided, a lack of post-training resources left carers feeling unsupported ( Barrett et al, 2021 ).…”

“…C. Barnett et al, 2021). On the other hand, support from family and friends was found to be associated with low stress levels in multiple studies (Fawley-King et al, 2020;Gleeson et al, 2016;Leathers et al, 2019;Lin, 2018;Sharda, 2022;Sharda et al, 2019;Woods, 2021). Several studies reported that factors such as ethnicity, age, marital status, financial status, and mental health status predict carer…”

Supporting Children and Kinship Caregivers in the Context of Substance Use Disorder: Perspectives of Key Professionals

“…Despite the challenges of parental SUD for caregivers, protective factors may minimize the challenges. Woods (2021) found that spirituality and social supports were key coping mechanisms for caregivers of grandchildren. Dunfee et al (2021) suggest that religion and spirituality provide a sense of purpose, perspective, and coping among grandparent caregivers.…”

“…Caregivers raising children are at greater risk of depression, social isolation, hypertension, insomnia, diabetes, and decreased physical and emotional well-being (Ge & Adesman, 2017; Hadfield, 2014; Woods, 2021). They are also faced with challenges of financial stress, lack of legal relationship with the child, inadequate housing and resources, and social isolation (Letiecq, Bailey, & Porterfield, 2008; Sharda, Sutherby, Cavanaugh, Hughes, & Woodward, 2019).…”