AFRICAN AMERICAN CUSTODIAL GRANDPARENTS: A NATIONAL PROFILE OF HEALTH CHARACTERISTICS AND BEHAVIORS

Abstract

The U. S. Census Bureau reports 1.3 million African American (AA) grandparents reside with their grandchildren; nearly half (47%) have full parenting responsibility for their grandchildren’s care. Despite the expanding literature on this family group, more information is needed on “solo grandparents” who are raising their grandchildren on their own. Using the 2012 Behavior Risk Factor Surveillance System survey, we compare the prevalence of medical conditions and health behaviors of 169 AA solo grandparents raising grandchildren in comparison to 1,635 AA single parents. Compared to single parents, AA grandparents had a higher prevalence of several chronic health conditions, including arthritis (50.3% vs.17.5%), COPD (12.5% vs. 3.6%), diabetes (20.1% vs. 6.9%), and coronary heart disease (12.6% vs.2.3%). Although a majority of the grandparents were enrolled in a health plan (92.9%) and had a primary medical provider (89.9%), nearly 44% rated their health as fair or poor. Further, AA grandparents were more likely to have a diagnosis of depression in their lifetime, as compared to single parents (25.4% vs.16.8%). Although AA grandparents were less likely to be overweight (27.9% vs. 33.1%) or obese (36.4% vs.45.8%), they were more likely to be current smokers (35.3% vs. 21.0%). Logistic regression analyses suggested that age differences account for most of the reported variances in chronic conditions between the parenting groups. However, the data illustrate the serious health problems of AA solo grandparents. The impact of the findings on grandparents’ parenting roles is discussed, as well as suggestions for promoting community-based support services.