Impact of Grandchild Caregiving on African American Grandparents

ABSTRACT

The aim of this study was to describe the context and impact of caregiving for grandchildren with health concerns on grandparents. The study sample comprised 391 African American grandparents aged 55 or older. Logistic regression analysis indicated that grandparent caregivers of grandchildren with psychiatric or behavioral problems were more likely to experience a negative impact on their health (AOR = 7.86, p =.008) and leisure (AOR = 14.31, p =.024) than grandparent caregivers of grandchildren with no or other types of health problems. The findings underscore the need to support African American grandparent caregivers, particularly those raising grandchildren with mental health problems.

KEYWORDS:

• Grandparent caregiving
• African American grandparents
• grandchildren with disabilities
• behavioral problems
• grandparent leisure

Acknowledgments

We would like to acknowledge the work of Drs. Lisa Ficker, Krim Lacey, and the staff at the Consulting for Statistics, Computing and Analytics Research, University of Michigan for assisting with data analysis. This study was supported by a grant from the National Institutes of Health, 5P30 AG015281, and the Michigan Center for Urban African American Aging Research.

Declaration of Interest

The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the article.

About the Authors

Preethy S. Samuel, OTRL, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Health Care Sciences, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI, USA; Christina N. Marsack, PhD, Assistant Professor, School of Social Work, Eastern Michigan University, Detroit, MI, USA; Lisa A. Johnson, OTRL, MHS, Staff Occupational Therapist, Pediatric Health Consultants, Troy, MI, USA; Barbara W. LeRoy, PhD, Research Associate, Developmental Disabilities Institute, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI, USA; Catherine L. Lysack, PhD, Professor, Institute of Gerontology, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI, USA; Peter A. Lichtenberg, PhD, Professor, Institute of Gerontology, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI, USA.