Health, stress, coping, and social support in grandmother caregivers

Abstract

The purposes of this study were to examine health, stress, coping, and supports of grandmothers who live with one or more grandchildren and participate in their care, and to examine whether differences exist between grandmothers with primary and partial responsibility for their grandchildren's care. A convenience sample of 90 women was recruited from various sites, and participants completed a self-administered questionnaire. There were no differences between grandmothers who had primary responsibility for raising their grandchildren (n = 58) and those who did not (n = 32) in self-assessed health, anxiety, or depression; in coping; or in typical grandparenting stresses. Grandmothers with primary responsibility reported significantly greater parenting stresses and less instrumental and subjective social support. Grandmothers in both groups reported high depression and anxiety scores and favorable scores on grandparenting stresses. Implications for grandmother caregivers are discussed.