Elevated depressive symptoms among caregiving grandparents

Abstract

Objective: To determine whether caregiving grandparents are at an increased risk for depressive symptoms.

Data source: National sample (n=10,293) of grandparents aged 53-63 years in 1994, and their spouse/partners, who took part in the Health and Retirement Study (HRS).

Study design: Grandparents were surveyed in 1994 and resurveyed every two years thereafter, through 2000. Over that period, 977 had a grandchild move in or out of their home. These grandparents served as their own controls to assess the impact of having a grandchild in the home. Data Extraction. Depressive symptoms were measured using an abbreviated form of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression (CES-D) scale, scored 1-8, with a score > or =4 associated with depression "caseness".

Principal findings: At the time of the 1994 interview, 8.2 percent of grandparents had a grandchild in their home. However, there was substantial variation across demographic groups (e.g., 29.4 percent of single nonwhite grandmothers, but only 2.0 percent of single white grandfathers had a grandchild in residence). The impact of having a grandchild in the home varied by grandparent demographic group, with single grandparents and those without coresident adult children experiencing the greatest probability of elevation in depressive symptoms when a grandchild was in residence. For example, single nonwhite grandmothers experienced an 8 percentage point increase in the probability of having a CES-D score > or =4 when a grandchild was in their home, compared to when a grandchild was not in their home, controlling for changes in health care, income, and household composition over time (95 percent CI=0.1 to 15.0 percentage points).

Conclusions: Grandparents have a greater probability of elevated depressive symptoms when a grandchild is in their home, versus when a grandchild is not in their home. Single women of color bear a disproportionate burden of the depression associated with caring for grandchildren. Since an increasing number of grandparents function as a de facto safety net keeping their grandchildren out of formal foster care, identifying strategies to support the health and well-being of caregiving grandparents is an emerging priority.

Figure 1

Subsets of Participants in the Health and Retirement Study, 1994–2000 Note: Numbers are unweighted.

Figure 2

Distribution of Abbreviated CES-D Scores for All HRS Grandparents, by Selected Characteristics, 1994 Note: Figure reflects the characteristics of HRS grandparents who were in the sample in 1994 and had valid CES-D data (n=7,875). The n's in parenthesis indicate the unweighted number of 1994 HRS grandparents with each characteristic. The n's for some exhaustive characteristics do not total 7,875 due to missing data.

Figure 3

Distribution of Abbreviated CES-D Scores for All “Switcher” HRS Grandparents as Their Household Composition Varied, 1994–2000 Note: Descriptive data drawn from grandparents who had a grandchild move in or out of their home at least once during four waves of observation. Each person-wave counted once (see text for discussion). The n's in parentheses denote the number of person waves contributing to each descriptive bar is shown in parentheses. Only selected household configurations are shown.

Figure 4

Distribution of CES-D Scores for White and Nonwhite “Switcher” HRS Grandmothers as Their Household Composition Varied, 1994–2000 Note: Descriptive data drawn from grandmothers who had a grandchild move in or out of their home during at least one of the four waves of observation. Each person-wave counted once (for example, those present in 4 waves contribute 4 data points). The n's in parentheses denotes the number of person waves contributing to each descriptive bar. Only selected household configurations are shown.