Grandmothers raising grandchildren: family structure and well-being in culturally diverse families.
OBJECTIVE
This study addressed well-being of grandmothers raising grandchildren in coparenting and custodial households in a sample of African American, Latino, and White grandmothers.


METHODS
A sample of 1,058 grandmothers was recruited through the schools and media. Grandmothers raising or helping to raise school-aged grandchildren in Los Angeles were interviewed, and analyses were conducted within ethnic groups.


RESULTS
African American grandmothers experienced equal well-being in coparenting and custodial families; however, if the stresses related to the parents' problems were removed by statistical control, they favored the custodial arrangement. Latino grandmothers had greater well-being in coparenting families, reflecting a tradition of intergenerational living. White custodial grandmothers experienced somewhat higher levels of affect (positive and negative) but showed no difference in other types of well-being.


CONCLUSIONS
The cultural lens through which grandparenthood is viewed has a marked impact on the adaptation to custodial or coparenting family structures.
D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D001741:Black or African American / Q000523:psychology; D002648:Child; D002654:Child Care / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D002655:Child Custody; D005190:Family / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006630:Hispanic or Latino / Q000523:psychology; D006801:Humans; D016901:Intergenerational Relations / Q000208:ethnology; D008875:Middle Aged; D012944:Social Support; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D044465:White People / Q000523:psychology