Mothers' and Grandmothers' Perceptions of Parental Behavior in Three-Generational Black Families

Abstract

WILSON, MELVIN N. Mothers' and Grandmothers' Perceptions of Parental Behavior in ThreeGenerational Black Families. CHILD DEVELOPMENT, 1984, 55, 1333-1339. This study was designed to investigate perceptions of normal interactions between grandmother and grandchild and between mother and child in black families. Grandmothers, mothers, and children between the ages of 8 and 14 were interviewed using Bronfenbrenner's Parental Behavior Scale. For the 60 participating families, there were 2 levels of family structure, single-parent or dual-parent, and 2 levels of grandmother's domicile, living with the family or living in the local community. The results indicate that grandmothers perceived themselves and were perceived as having more active involvement with children when they live with their single adult daughter than in the other conditions. Also, grandmothers living in the community perceived their single adult daughters as having less active involvement with their children than in the other conditions. Generally, these findings indicate that black family patterns are more complex than previously assumed, and that extended family involvement in child rearing supports the strength/resilience approach to black family research.