Adjustment among grandmothers raising their grandchildren: A comparison of clinic grandmothers, nonclinic grandmothers, and clinic mothers
Abstract
The present investigation examined depression, parental stress, parenting satisfaction and perceptions of grandchild behavior among Black and Latino grandmothers raising their grandchildren in New York City. Comparisons were made among 35 clinic grandmothers (i.e., those seeking psychological services for their grandchildren), 35 nonclinic grandmothers (i.e., grandmothers of nonreferred grandchildren), and a comparison group of 35 clinic mothers (i.e., mothers seeking psychological services for their children). The results supported the hypotheses that clinic grandmothers and clinic mothers would report (a) greater depression, parental stress, and perceptions of (grand)child maladjustment, and (b) lower parenting satisfaction than nonclinic grandmothers. With a focus on clinic grandmothers, the population of primary interest in this investigation, the associations among personal adjustment variables and perceptions of (grand)child behavior also were examined. Clinic grandmothers' levels of distress (depression and parental stress) were related positively to their perceptions of problematic grandchild behaviors. Clinic grandmothers' parenting satisfaction was related negatively to their levels of depression and parenting stress, as well as to their perceptions of (grand)child maladjustment. Multiple regression analyses revealed that of the personal adjustment variables tested, parent domain stress was the best predictor of clinic grandmothers' perceptions of grandchild maladjustment. The results provided evidence of the importance of assessing custodial grandmothers' personal adjustment, rather than child behavior alone, when grandmothers seek psychological services for grandchildren whom they are raising.
Subject Area
Psychotherapy|Social work|African Americans|Families & family life|Personal relationships|Sociology|Social psychology
Recommended Citation
Daly, Sharon Lee, "Adjustment among grandmothers raising their grandchildren: A comparison of clinic grandmothers, nonclinic grandmothers, and clinic mothers" (1997). ETD Collection for Fordham University. AAI9715518.
https://research.library.fordham.edu/dissertations/AAI9715518
