Many grandparents today have the responsibility of caring for their grandchildren. Although caregiving grandparents come from all racial groups and social classes, single African American grandparents from urban, low-income households are represented at a higher rate than any other racial or ethnic group. As the number of grandparent-headed households continues to increase in society, so do their stressors, and the need to understand these families' experiences becomes more significant. The purpose of this article is to explore the experiences and stresses affecting African American grandparents who are the primary caregivers of their grandchildren. First, a general description of grandparent-headed families (GHF) is presented, followed by a brief history and discussion of the factors leading to GHF. Current research in the kinship care literature on GHF is reviewed. In conclusion, the author discusses research and clinical implications for family counselors working with these families.
Bengston, V.L. (2001). Beyond the nuclear family: The increasing importance of multigenerational bonds. Journal of Marriage and the Family , 63, 1-16.
2.
Bowen, M. (1978). Family therapy in clinical practice. New York: Aronson.
3.
Bowers, B.F., & Meyers, B.J. (1999). Grandmothers providing care for grandchildren: Consequences of various levels of caregiving. Family Relations , 48, 303-311.
4.
Caputo, R.K. (2000). Second-generation parenthood: A panel study of grandmother and grandchild coresidency among low-income families, 1967-1992 . Journal of Sociology and Social Welfare, XXVII, 3-20.
5.
Caputo, R.K. (2001). The intergenerational transmission of grandmother-grandchild co-residency. Journal of Sociology and Social Welfare, XXVIII, 79-86.
6.
Chang, C.Y., & Ritter, K.B. (2004). Cultural considerations of Adlerian parenting education. Journal of Individual Psychology, 60, 67-75.
7.
Daly, S.L. (1993). Adjustment among grandmothers raising their grandchildren: Non-clinic grandmothers and clinic mothers. The FamilyPsychologist , Summer, 11-12.
8.
Daly, S.L., & Glenwick, D.S. (2000). Personal adjustment and perceptions of grandchild behavior in custodial grandmothers. Journal of Clinical Child Psychology, 29, 108-118.
9.
Dinkmeyer, D., McKay, G., & Dinkmeyer, D., Jr. (1997). The parent's handbook. Circle Pines, MN: American Guidance Service.
10.
Edwards, O. (1998). Helping grandkin—grandchildren raised by grandparents: Expanding psychology in the schools. Psychology in the Schools, 35, 173-181.
11.
Fuller-Thomson, E., Hayslip, B., Jr., & Patrick, J.H. (2005). Introduction to the special issue: Diversity among grandparent caregivers. International Journal of Aging and Human Development, 60, 269-272.
12.
Gatz, M., Bengston, V.L., & Blum, M.J. (1990). Caregiving families. In J. E. Birren & K. W. Scaie (Eds.), Handbook of the psychology of aging (3rd ed.). San Diego, CA: Academic Press.
13.
Grinstead, L.N., Leder, S., Jensen, S., & Bond, L. (2003). Integrative literature review and meta-analyses: Review of research on the health of caregiving grandparents. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 44, 318-326.
14.
Henderson, S. (2006, April). Parenting the second time around. Ebony, pp. 104-108.
15.
Heywood, E.M. (1999). Custodial grandparents and their grandchildren . The Family Journal: Counseling and Therapy for Couples and Families, 7, 367-372.
16.
Jimenez, J. (2002). The history of grandmothers in the African-American community. Social Service Review, December, 523-551.
Kelley, S.J. (1993). Caregiver stress in grandparents raising grandchildren . Image: Journal of Nursing Scholarship, 25, 331-337.
19.
Kelley, S.J., Whitley, D., Sipe, T.A., & Yorker, B. (2000). Psychological distress in grandmother kinship care providers: The role of resources, social support, and physical health . Child Abuse & Neglect, 24, 311-321.
20.
Kelley, S.J., Yorker, B.C., & Whitley, D. (1997). To grandma's house we go . . . and stay. Journal of Gerontological Social Work, 33, 35-55.
21.
Kelley, S.J., Yorker, B.C., Whitley, D.M., & Sipe, T.A. (2001). A multimodal intervention for grandparents raising grandchildren: Results of an exploratory study. Child Welfare League of America, LXXX, 27-50.
22.
Kolomer, S.R., & McCallion, P. (2005). Depression and caregiver mastery in grandfathers caring for their grandchildren. International Journal of Aging and Human Development, 60, 283-294.
23.
Lazarus, R., & Folkman, S. (1984). Stress, appraisal and coping. New York: Springer.
24.
Lee, R.D., Ensminger, M.E., & LaVeist, T.A. (2005). The responsibility continuum: Never primary, coresident and caregiver: Heterogeneity in the African-American grandmother experience . International Journal of Aging and Human Development, 60, 295-304.
25.
Lever, K., & Wilson, J.J. (2005). Encore parenting: When grandparents fill the role of primary caregiver. The Family Journal: Counseling and Therapy for Couples and Families, 13, 167-171.
26.
Minkler, M., & Roe, K.M. (1993). Grandmothers as caregivers: Raising children of the crack cocaine epidemic. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
27.
Minuchin, S. (1974). Families and family therapy. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
28.
Musil, C.M. (1998). Health, stress, coping, and social support in grandmother caregivers. Health Care for Women International , 19, 441-455.
29.
Musil, C.M., & Standing, T. (2005). Grandmothers' diaries: A glimpse at daily lives . International Journal of Aging and Human Development, 60, 317-329.
30.
Oburu, P.O., & Palmerus, K. (2005). Stress related factors among primary and part-time caregiving grandmothers of Kenyan grandchildren. International Journal of Aging and Human Development, 60, 273-282.
31.
Popkin, M. (1993). Active parenting today. Atlanta, GA: Active Parenting.
32.
Racicot, L. (2003, April). Understanding the needs and issues of grand-families: A survey of grandparents raising grandchildren: A pilot study. Paper presented at the biennial meeting of the Society for Research on Child Development, Tampa, Florida.
33.
Ross, M.E.T., & Aday, L.A. (2006). Stress and coping in African American grandparents who are raising their grandchildren. Journal of Family Issues , 27, 912-932.
34.
Sands, R.G., & Goldberg-Glen, R.S. (2000). Factors associated with stress among grandparents raising their grandchildren. Family Relations, 49, 97-105.
35.
Shore, R.J., & Hayslip, B. (1994). Custodial grandparenting: Implications for children's development. In A. Gottfried (Ed.), Redefining families: Implications for human development (pp. 117-218). New York: Plenum.
36.
Watson, J.A., Randolph, S.M., & Lyons, J.L. (2005). African-American grandmothers as health educators in the family. International Journal of Aging and Human Development , 60, 343-356.
37.
Whitley, D.M., Kelley, S.J., & Sipe, T.A. (2001). Grandmothers raising grandchildren: Are they at increased risk of health problems? Health &Social Work , 26, 105-114.
38.
Whitley, D.M., White, K.R., Kelley, S.J., & Yorker, B. (1999). Strengths-based case management: The application to grandparents raising grandchildren. Families in Society: The Journal of Contemporary Human Services, 1, 110-119.
39.
Yorker, B., Kelley, S., Whitley, D., Lewis, A., Magis, J., Bergeron, A., et al. (1998). Custodial relationships of grandparents raising grandchildren: Results of a home-based intervention study. Juvenile and Family Court Journal, Spring, 15-25.
