The research objective is to evaluate the effectiveness of intervention programs that aim to enhance the well-being of grandparent caregivers and the developmental outcomes of grandchildren and identify useful program components.
Method:
Relevant studies were identified via comprehensive literature searches of electronic databases. A random effects model was used to calculate effect sizes.
Results:
We included 20 studies published in and before April 2018. Our review indicates that interventions for grandparent caregivers have positive effects in regard to various well-being outcomes. Small to moderate effect sizes for increases in social support and parenting skills and a decrease in children’s behavioral problems were found. Supportive and educational components could contribute to a promising intervention.
Conclusions:
The implementation of interventions for grandparents requires ongoing research efforts to obtain high-quality evidence for program effectiveness. We suggest future research be conducted to develop tailored interventions to meet the needs of different grandparent caregivers.
BaileyS. J.HaynesD. C.LetiecqB. L. (2013). “How can you retire when you still got a kid in school?” Economics of raising grandchildren in rural areas. Marriage & Family Review, 49, 671–693. doi:10.1080/01494929.2013.803009
2.
BorensteinM.HedgesL. V.HigginsJ. P. T.RothsteinH. R. (2009). Introduction to meta-analysis. Chichester, England: John Wiley.
3.
*BurnetteD. (1998). Grandparents rearing grandchildren: A school-based small group intervention. Research on Social Work Practice, 8, 10–27. doi:10.1177/104973159800800103
4.
*CampbellL.CarthronD. L.MilesM. S.BrownL. (2012). Examining the effectiveness of a case management program for custodial grandparent families. Nursing Research and Practice, 2012. Article ID 124230. doi:10.1155/2012/124230
5.
ChenF.LiuG.MairC. A. (2011). Intergenerational ties in context: Grandparents caring for grandchildren in China. Social Forces, 90, 571–594. doi:10.1093/sf/sor012
6.
ChoiM.SprangG.EslingerJ. G. (2016). Grandparents raising grandchildren: A synthetic review and theoretical model for interventions. Family & Community Health, 39, 120–128. doi:10.1097/FCH.0000000000000097
7.
CohenJ. (1992). A power primer. Psychological Bulletin, 112, 155–159.
8.
ConwayF.JonesS.Speakes-LewisA. (2011). Emotional strain in caregiving among African American grandmothers raising their grandchildren. Journal of Women & Aging, 23, 113–128. doi:10.1080/08952841.2011.561142
9.
CorinneI.MarcS. (2011). Grandchild care and welfare state arrangements in Europe. Journal of European Social Policy, 21, 210–224. doi:10.1177/0958928711401766
10.
Di GessaG.GlaserK.TinkerA. (2016). The impact of caring for grandchildren on the health of grandparents in Europe: A lifecourse approach. Social Science & Medicine, 152, 166–175. doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2016.01.041
11.
DuvalS.TweedieR. (2000). Trim and fill: A simple funnel-plot-based method of testing and adjusting for publication bias in meta-analysis. Biometrics, 56, 455–463. doi:10.1111/j.0006-341X.2000.00455.x
GlaserK.PriceD.di GessaG.RibeE.StuchburyR.TinkerA. (2013). Grandparenting in Europe: Family policy and grandparents’ role in providing childcare. London, England: Grandparents Plus.
14.
GrinsteadL. N.LederS.JensenS.BondL. (2003). Review of research on the health of caregiving grandparents. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 44, 318–326. doi:10.1046/j.1365-2648.2003.02807.x
15.
*HayslipJ. B. (2003). The impact of a psychosocial intervention on parental efficacy, grandchild relationship quality, and well-being among grandparents raising grandchildren. In HayslipB.JrPatrickJ. H. (Eds.), Working with custodial grandparents (pp. 163–176). New York, NY: Springer.
16.
HayslipJ. B.BlumenthalH.GarnerA. (2015). Social support and grandparent caregiver health: One-year longitudinal findings for grandparents raising their grandchildren. The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, 70, 804–812. doi:10.1093/geronb/gbu165
17.
HayslipJ. B.FruhaufC. A.Dolbin-MacNabM. L. (2017). Grandparents raising grandchildren: What have we learned over the past decade?The Gerontologist, 57, 1196. doi:10.1093/geront/gnx106
18.
KeeneJ. R.BatsonC. D. (2010). Under one roof: A review of research on intergenerational coresidence and multigenerational households in the United States. Sociology Compass, 4, 642–657. doi:10.1111/j.1751-9020.2010.00306.x
19.
*KelleyS. J.WhitleyD. M.CamposP. E. (2010). Grandmothers raising grandchildren: Results of an intervention to improve health outcomes. Journal of Nursing Scholarship, 42, 379–386. doi:10.1111/j.1547-5069.2010.01371.x
20.
KelleyS. J.WhitleyD. M.CamposP. E. (2011). Behavior problems in children raised by grandmothers: The role of caregiver distress, family resources, and the home environment. Children and Youth Services Review, 33, 2138–2145. doi:10.1016/j.childyouth.2011.06.021
21.
*KelleyS. J.WhitleyD. M.CamposP. E. (2013). African American caregiving grandmothers: Results of an intervention to improve health indicators and health promotion behaviors. Journal of Family Nursing, 19, 53–73. doi:10.1177/1074840712462135
22.
*KelleyS. J.WhitleyD.SipeT. A. (2007). Results of an interdisciplinary intervention to improve the psychosocial well-being and physical functioning of African American grandmothers raising grandchildren. Journal of Intergenerational Relationships, 5, 45–64. doi:10.1300/J194v05n03_04
23.
*KelleyS. J.YorkerB. C.WhitleyD. M.SipeT. A. (2001). A multimodal intervention for grandparents raising grandchildren: Results of exploratory study. Child Welfare: Journal of Policy, Practice, and Program, 80, 27–50.
24.
KirbyJ. N. (2015). The potential benefits of parenting programs for grandparents: Recommendations and clinical implications. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 24, 3200–3212. doi:10.1007/s10826-015-0123-9
25.
KirbyJ. N.SandersM. R. (2012). Using consumer input to tailor evidence-based parenting interventions to the needs of grandparents. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 21, 626–636. doi:10.1007/s10826-011-9514-8
26.
*KirbyJ. N.SandersM. R. (2014). A randomized controlled trial evaluating a parenting program designed specifically for grandparents. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 52, 35–44. doi:10.1016/j.brat.2013.11.002
27.
KuL.-J. E.StearnsS. C.Van HoutvenC. H.LeeS.-Y. D.Dilworth-AndersonP.KonradT. R. (2013). Impact of caring for grandchildren on the health of grandparents in Taiwan. The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, 68, 1009–1021. doi:10.1093/geronb/gbt090
28.
LeeY.BlitzL. V. (2016). We’re GRAND: A qualitative design and development pilot project addressing the needs and strengths of grandparents raising grandchildren. Child & Family Social Work, 21, 381–390. doi:10.1111/cfs.12153
29.
LeungS.LeungC.LukW.-Y. (2012). A survey of infant and young child feeding in Hong Kong: Parental perceptions and practices. Retrieved fromDepartment of Health of The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region website: http://www.fhs.gov.hk/english/reports/
30.
*LeungC.SandersM.FungB.KirbyJ. (2014). The effectiveness of the Grandparent Triple P program with Hong Kong Chinese families: A randomized controlled trial. Journal of Family Studies, 20, 104–117. doi:10.1080/13229400.2014.11082000
31.
*LittlewoodK. A.StrozierA. L.WhittingtonD. (2014). Kin as teachers: An early childhood education and support intervention for kinship families. Children and Youth Services Review, 38, 1–9. doi:10.1016/j.childyouth.2013.11.026
32.
MasonJ.MayV.ClarkeL. (2007). Ambivalence and the paradoxes of grandparenting. The Sociological Review, 55, 687–706. doi:10.1111/j.1467-954X.2007.00748.x
33.
McCallionP.JanickiM. P.Grant-GriffinL.KolomerS. (2000). Grandparent carers II: Service needs and service provision issues. Journal of Gerontological Social Work, 33, 57–84. doi:10.1300/J083v33n03_04
34.
*McCallionP.JanickiM. P.KolomerS. R. (2004). Controlled evaluation of support groups for grandparent caregivers of children with developmental disabilities and delays. American Journal on Mental Retardation, 109, 352–361. doi:10.1352/0895-8017(2004)109<352:CEOSGF>2.0.CO;2
35.
McLaughlinB.RyderD.TaylorM. F. (2017). Effectiveness of interventions for grandparent caregivers: A systematic review. Marriage & Family Review, 53, 509–531. doi:10.1080/01494929.2016.1177631
36.
MonahanD. J.SmithC. J.GreeneV. L. (2013). Kinship caregivers: Health and burden. Journal of Family Social Work, 16, 392–402. doi:10.1080/10522158.2013.832464
37.
MorrisonJ.ChunsuwanI.BunnagP.GronholmP. C.Lockwood-EstrinG. (2018). Thailand’s national universal developmental screening programme for young children: Action research for improved follow-up. BMJ Global Health, 3, e000589. doi:10.1136/bmjgh-2017-000589
38.
*MusilC. M.ZauszniewskiJ. A.BurantC. J.TolyV. B.WarnerC. B. (2015). Evaluating an online resourcefulness training intervention pilot test using six critical parameters. The International Journal of Aging & Human Development, 82, 117–135. doi:10.1177/0091415015623552
39.
PetersonT. L. (2017). Changes in health perceptions among older grandparents raising adolescent grandchildren. Social Work in Public Health, 32, 394–406. doi:10.1080/19371918.2017.1327389
40.
PilkauskasN. V.DunifonR. E. (2016). Understanding grandfamilies: Characteristics of grandparents, nonresident parents, and children. Journal of Marriage and Family, 78, 623–633. doi:10.1111/jomf.12291
41.
PilkauskasN. V.MartinsonM. L. (2014). Three-generation family households in early childhood: Comparisons between the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Demographic Research, 30, 1639–1652. doi:10.4054/DemRes.2014.30.60
42.
SmithG. C.CichyK. E.Montoro-RodriguezJ. (2015). Impact of coping resources on the well-being of custodial grandmothers and grandchildren. Family Relations, 64, 378–392. doi:10.1111/fare.12121
43.
SmithA. B.DannisonL. L. (2003). Grandparent-headed families in the United States. Journal of Intergenerational Relationships, 1, 35–47. doi:10.1300/J194v01n03_04
44.
*StrozierA. L. (2012). The effectiveness of support groups in increasing social support for kinship caregivers. Children and Youth Services Review, 34, 876–881. doi:10.1016/j.childyouth.2012.01.007
45.
SumoJ.WilburJ.JulionW.BuchholzS.SchoenyM. (2018). Interventions to improve grandparent caregivers’ mental and physical health: An integrative review. Western Journal of Nursing Research. 40, 1236–1264. doi:10.1177/0193945917705376
*YoungT. L. (2014). “Having our say”: Exploring the processes and feasibility of a community-based participatory intergenerational physical activity program for grandparents raising grandchildren (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved fromhttp://scholarcommons.usf.edu/etd/5405/
48.
*ZauszniewskiJ. A.AuT.-Y.MusilC. M. (2013). Heart rate variability biofeedback in grandmothers raising grandchildren: Effects on stress, emotions, and cognitions. Biofeedback, 41, 144–149. doi:10.5298/1081-5937-41.3.06
49.
*ZauszniewskiJ. A.MusilC. M. (2014). Interventions for grandmothers: Comparative effectiveness of resourcefulness training, HRV biofeedback, and journaling. Biofeedback, 42, 121–129. doi:10.5298/1081-5937-42.3.03
50.
*ZauszniewskiJ. A.MusilC. M.BurantC. J.StandingT. S.AuT.-Y. (2014). Resourcefulness training for grandmothers raising grandchildren: Establishing fidelity. Western Journal of Nursing Research, 36, 228–244. doi:10.1177/0193945913500725
51.
*ZhangY.JiM.ZouJ.YuanT.DengJ.YangL.…LinQ. (2018). Effect of a conditional cash transfer program on nutritional knowledge and food practices among caregivers of 3–5-year-old left-behind children in the rural Hunan Province. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 15, 525. doi:10.3390/ijerph15030525
Supplementary Material
Please find the following supplemental material available below.
For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.
For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.
