title: Grandparents raising grandchildren: stressors, social support, and health outcomes.
abstract: The major purpose of this study was to identify predictors of grandparent caregiver health status. Additional purposes were to describe the physical and emotional health of grandparent caregivers and the perceived benefits of support group attendance. A convenience sample of 42 grandparents was recruited from support groups. Data were collected through telephone interviews. Grandparents who had higher parenting stress reported lower levels of physical, social, and mental health. Inverse correlations were present between life stress and mental health. Positive correlations were found between social support and physical health. No pattern emerged in a comparison of the health of caregiving grandparents and a normative sample. Emotional support was the primary benefit derived from support group attendance. There were modest inverse associations between the length of time the child had lived with the grandparent and six of the eight indicators of grandparent health.
authors.affiliation: Kirkhof College of Nursing, Grand Valley State University, 301 Michigan Street NE, Grand Rapids, MI 49503, USA. leders@gvsu.edu
authors.forename: Sharon
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Leder
authors.forename: Linda Nicholson
authors.initials: LN
authors.lastname: Grinstead
authors.forename: Elisa
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Torres
mesh_terms: D000203:Activities of Daily Living / Q000523:psychology; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D022143:Family Nursing; D006304:Health Status; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D016901:Intergenerational Relations; D008603:Mental Health; D008875:Middle Aged; D015146:Midwestern United States; D015404:Nursing Methodology Research; D016487:Parenting / Q000523:psychology*; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012307:Risk Factors; D012657:Self-Help Groups; D012944:Social Support; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology* / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000523:psychology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires