title: Mental Health Stress, Family Resources and Psychological Distress: A Longitudinal Mediation Analysis in African American Grandmothers Raising Grandchildren.
abstract: This study examines the effectiveness of a multidisciplinary intervention for African American grandmothers raising grandchildren on the relationship between dichotomized levels of mental health stress (low vs. high) and elevated levels of psychological distress, mediated by perceptions of family resources.
  
  
  
  A nonrandom sample of African American grandmothers (N = 679) was assessed to test the predictive relations among study constructs in the context of a prospective mediational model.
  
  
  
  Perception of family resources contributes to lower psychological distress among custodial grandmothers exhibiting low and high levels of mental health stress. There was no significant difference in the strength of the mediated effects between the 2 mental health stress groups.
  
  
  
  The findings suggest appropriate resource-focused interventions can enhance grandmothers' subjective assessments of family resources and reduce psychological distress. However, additional research is needed to ascertain the consistency and generalizability of findings.
authors.affiliation: School of Social Work, Andrew Young School of Policy Studies.
authors.forename: Deborah M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Whitley
authors.affiliation: Emory University School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences/Grady Health System, Atlanta, GA.
authors.forename: Dorian A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Lamis
authors.affiliation: Byrdine F. Lewis School of Nursing and Health Professions, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA.
authors.forename: Susan J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Kelley
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American / Q000523:psychology*; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002648:Child; D002668:Child Rearing / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D000066502:Grandparents / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008875:Middle Aged; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000523:psychology*
keywords: grandmothers raising grandchildren; grandparents; mediation analysis; psychological distress