The Health of the Nation’s Custodial Grandfathers and Older Single Fathers: Findings From the Behavior Risk Factor Surveillance System

Abstract

Two important parent groups are solo grandfathers and single fathers raising children alone. The health of male caregivers raising children has received little attention by scholars. Investigating the health of single male caregivers raises awareness about their physical vulnerability. This study uses the 2012 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System to compare health characteristics of 82 solo grandfathers with 396 single fathers aged 50 years and older. The findings suggest that grandfathers exhibited a high prevalence for various health conditions, including diabetes (44%), heart attack (27%), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (23%), and stroke (6%). Almost half of grandfathers rated their health as fair/poor (47%), and nearly two in five had functional limitations (38%). Although older single fathers had better health characteristics than grandfathers, their health profile was poorer than population norms. Logistic regression analysis suggests that solo grandfathers are more at risk for poor health outcomes than older single fathers. Practice interventions to minimize health risks are discussed.

Family Well-being in Grandparent- Versus Parent-Headed Households

“…The demographic and health correlates of grandparents assuming the caregiving role have been wellcharacterized by previous research. Most custodial grandparents are aged 50 to 59 years 8 and, compared with parents, tend to have poorer physical [9][10][11][12] and mental [13][14][15] health before taking on the demanding role of parenting a child. Custodial grandparents may also feel isolated from peers because the demands of caregiving can be time-consuming.…”

“…27 Previous researchers have further explored grandparent and grandchild outcomes among subpopulations of grandparent caregivers. Analyses have individually been focused on grandmothers 15,28,29 and grandfathers 11 raising grandchildren, racial differences among grandfamilies, 10,29 the diverse cultural attitudes and outcomes of grandparenting, 14,30 and how singlegrandparent caregivers compare with single-parent caregivers. 11,12 These studies individually provide key insights into select components of the grandfamily.…”

Age-Dependent Differences in Frequent Mental Distress (FMD) of US Older Adults Living in Multigenerational Families versus Living Alone

“…All BRFSS landline respondents 65 years and older who indicated “grandparent” to this question constituted older adults living in multigenerational family households (6.1% of the total study sample, n = 4921; N = 2,227,149) in our study. In prior studies, the BRFSS “relationship” question has been used to identify grandparent–grandchild multigenerational family structures and to investigate older adult health [ 62 , 67 , 68 , 69 ].…”

Parents lose less weight than nonparents in an intensive lifestyle intervention

“…Female-headed households have lower health status than women in other living arrangements, and single adult fathers and custodial grandfathers face high rates of diabetes, obesity and mental health illness compared with national rates. 20,21 Family-based treatment of obesity in children that also targets weight loss in the parents has been shown to be effective for weight loss in both children and their parents, [22][23][24][25][26][27] and interventions for chronic disease management in parents may have spillover effects on adolescents. 28 Qualitative research among parents with diabetes has shown that their children's dietary preferences tempt them to eat foods that they are supposed to be avoiding.…”

“…However, family context may be an important consideration for achieving lifestyle change. Female‐headed households have lower health status than women in other living arrangements, and single adult fathers and custodial grandfathers face high rates of diabetes, obesity and mental health illness compared with national rates 20,21 . Family‐based treatment of obesity in children that also targets weight loss in the parents has been shown to be effective for weight loss in both children and their parents, 22–27 and interventions for chronic disease management in parents may have spillover effects on adolescents 28 .…”