title: Race/Ethnic Differentials in the Health Consequences of Caring for Grandchildren for Grandparents.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The phenomenon of grandparents caring for grandchildren is disproportionately observed among different racial/ethnic groups in the United States. This study examines the influence of childcare provision on older adults' health trajectories in the United States with a particular focus on racial/ethnic differentials.
  
  
  METHODS
  Analyzing nationally representative, longitudinal data on grandparents over the age of 50 from the Health and Retirement Study (1998-2010), we conduct growth curve analysis to examine the effect of living arrangements and caregiving intensity on older adults' health trajectories, measured by changing Frailty Index (FI) in race/ethnic subsamples. We use propensity score weighting to address the issue of potential nonrandom selection of grandparents into grandchild care.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We find that some amount of caring for grandchildren is associated with a reduction of frailty for older adults, whereas coresidence with grandchildren results in health deterioration. For non-Hispanic black grandparents, living in a skipped generation household appears to be particularly detrimental to health. We also find that Hispanic grandparents fare better than non-Hispanic black grandparents despite a similar level of caregiving and rate of coresidence. Finally, financial and social resources assist in buffering some of the negative effects of coresidence on health (though this effect also differs by race/ethnicity).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our findings suggest that the health consequences of grandchild care are mixed across different racial/ethnic groups and are further shaped by individual characteristics as well as perhaps cultural context.
authors.affiliation: Department of Sociology, Maryland Population Research Center, University of Maryland, College Park. fchen1@umd.edu.
authors.forename: Feinian
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Department of Sociology and Anthropology, University of Maryland, Baltimore County.
authors.forename: Christine A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Mair
authors.affiliation: Department of Sociology, Maryland Population Research Center, University of Maryland, College Park.
authors.forename: Luoman
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Bao
authors.affiliation: Department of Sociology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.
authors.forename: Yang Claire
authors.initials: YC
authors.lastname: Yang
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D044383:Black People / Q000208:ethnology*; D005260:Female; D016330:Frail Elderly / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006304:Health Status; D054624:Health Status Disparities; D006630:Hispanic or Latino / Q000208:ethnology*; D006801:Humans; D016901:Intergenerational Relations / Q000208:ethnology*; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016487:Parenting / Q000208:ethnology*; D012111:Residence Characteristics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014481:United States / Q000208:ethnology; D001741:Black or African American
keywords: Caregiving—Grandparents—Health disparities—Race/ethnic differences