Abstract
AbstractObjective: This study sought to determine what impact the task of raising grandchildren is having on custodial grandparents’ physical health. Design and Methods: Thematic analysis was conducted on interview data collected from 49 custodial grandparents. Results: The task of raising grandchildren on a fixed-income is difficult for grandparents with limited respite-care options. Hence, they periodically face the dilemma of deciding whether to defer or not defer their own health needs so they can continue to care for their grandchildren. Grandparents are also wary of asking for health-related respite-care assistance: (i) in case their asking is perceived as an admission they are not coping; (ii) that some harm might befall their grandchildren while they are in respite-care; and (iii) that a respite-care placement will cause their grandchildren’s underlying abandonment insecurities to resurface. Policy considerations: To help overcome custodial grandparents’ respite-care access barriers greater consid...
Highlights
Assuming the custodial care responsibility for a vulnerable grandchild is an act of love which grandparents unstintingly do in instances where their grandchildren’s parents are incapable of parenting them due to their immaturity, substance addiction, ill-health, incarceration, distance employment, relationship breakdown, or death (Hadfield, 2014; Strom & Strom, 2011; Taylor, Coall, Marquis, & Batten, 2016; Trail Ross, Kang, & Cron, 2015)
This study investigated the impact that raising grandchildren has on custodial grandparents’ physical health
When operating on a fixed retirement income or a state pension the task of providing for the daily needs of one or more grandchildren places a considerable financial strain on custodial grandparents (Taylor, Marquis, Batten, & Coall, 2015). When this caregiving financial strain is coupled with the emotional distress associated with coming to terms with their own offspring’s inability to adequately parent their grandchild/ren as well as the ongoing daily challenge of raising grandchildren, caregiving exacts a toll on grandparents’ mental health (Taylor, Marquis, Batten, & Coall, 2016)
Summary
Assuming the custodial care responsibility for a vulnerable grandchild is an act of love which grandparents unstintingly do in instances where their grandchildren’s parents are incapable of parenting them due to their immaturity, substance addiction, ill-health, incarceration, distance employment, relationship breakdown, or death (Hadfield, 2014; Strom & Strom, 2011; Taylor, Coall, Marquis, & Batten, 2016; Trail Ross, Kang, & Cron, 2015). When operating on a fixed retirement income or a state pension the task of providing for the daily needs of one or more grandchildren places a considerable financial strain on custodial grandparents (Taylor, Marquis, Batten, & Coall, 2015). When this caregiving financial strain is coupled with the emotional distress associated with coming to terms with their own offspring’s inability to adequately parent their grandchild/ren as well as the ongoing daily challenge of raising grandchildren, caregiving exacts a toll on grandparents’ mental health (Taylor, Marquis, Batten, & Coall, 2016). Custodial grandparents have been found to be at an increased risk for obesity (Hadfield, 2014; Hayslip, Blumenthal, & Garner, 2014a; Kelley et al, 2012; Roberto, Dolbin-McNab, & Finney, 2008)
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