Page 232 - Encyclopedia of Nursing Research

GRANDPAReNTS RAISING GRANDCHILDReN n 199

reasons, the most common include abandon- Dowdell (2004) found that 40% of partici-
ment, neglect, substance abuse, incarcera- pants self-reported their health as only fair
tion, mental health issues, and HIV/AIDS or poor. G
(Kelley, Whitley, Sipe, & Yorker, 2000; Weber On the basis of a large nationally rep-
& Waldrop, 2000). resentative sample, researchers found that
Although caregiver burden has been grandmothers raising grandchildren were
studied extensively with regard to caring for more likely than noncaregiving grand-
elderly parents, ailing spouses, and chroni- mothers to report their health as either fair
cally ill children, caregiver burden among or poor (Fuller-Thomson & Minkler, 2000).
grandparents raising grandchildren has only These grandmothers were also more likely
been studied fairly recently. Researchers to report physical limitations when perform-
studying this phenomenon represent a vari- ing activities of daily living. In a prospective
ety of disciplines including nursing, soci- cohort study as part of the Nurses’ Health
ology, gerontology, and psychology. Nurse Study, researchers found that providing high
researchers have made important contri- levels of care to grandchildren increased the
butions related to grandparents raising risk of coronary heart disease (Lee, Colditz,
grandchildren, particularly with regard to Berkman, & Kawachi, 2003).
their physical and emotional well-being In addition to being at increased risk for
(e.g., Caliandro & Hughes, 1998; Dowell, health challenges, research findings indi-
2004; Musil & Ahmad, 2002; Kelley et al., cate that custodial grandparents experience
2000; Kelley, Whitley, & Sipe, 2007; Kelley, increased levels of psychological distress,
Whitley, & Campos, 2010; Musil, Warner, including depression (Force, Botsford, Pisano,
Zauszniewski, Wykle, & Standing, 2009). & Holbert, 2000; Fuller-Thomson & Minkler,
Research findings reveal that raising 2000; Kelley et al., 2000; Musil et al., 2009). In
grandchildren is associated with a nega- a study of grandmothers with three levels of
tive impact on caregiver well-being, with child care responsibilities, researchers found
numerous studies indicating that they are that primary caregiver grandmothers had
at an increased risk for poor health (Dowell, more depressive symptoms than grandmoth-
2004; Hughes, Waite, LaPierre, & Luo, 2007; ers who shared parenting in three genera-
Minkler & Fuller-Thomson, 2005; Musil & tion households and those with no caregiver
Ahmad, 2002; Whitley, Kelley, & Sipe, 2001). responsibilities (Musil et al., 2009). Primary
Using both objective and subjective data, caregivers also reported more intra family
researchers studying 100 African American strain than the other groups. In another
grandmothers found that almost one quar- study, researchers found that nearly 30%
ter were diagnosed with diabetes and high of grandparents raising grandchildren had
cholesterol, over one half were hypertensive, psychological distress scores in the clinical
and over three quarters met criteria for obe- range, which is indicative of a need for pro-
sity. When compared with the national nor- fessional mental health intervention (Kelley
mative sample, the participants self-reported et al., 2000). Predictors of increased psycho-
significantly worse health. Musil and Ahmad logical distress in that study included lack of
(2002) had similar findings when comparing family resources, physical health status, and
the health reports of 86 custodial grandmoth- lack of social support. Using data from the
ers to grandmothers who had partial care- National Survey of Families and Households,
giver responsibilities as well as those with no researchers found that, in comparison with
caregiver role. Custodial caregivers reported noncustodial grandmothers, custodial grand-
worse self-assessed physical health than the mothers are more likely to have significantly
other two groups. When examining care- higher levels of depressive symptomatology
giver burden in 104 custodial grandmothers, (Fuller-Thomson & Minkler, 2000).