OLDER GRANDPARENTS AS PRIMARY CAREGIVERS: METHODOLOGICAL CONSIDERATIONS

Purpose/Specific Aims: The purpose of this study was to seek understanding of the experiences and mental health of African American grandparents (55-years and older) who provide primary care for their grandchildren. The specific aims are: 1) to explore the range of factors that influence the experience of these older caregivers. 2) to analyze caregivers’ perceptions of their decision to care for their grandchildren, including the subsequent potential outcomes; impact on their health, changes in their quality of life, and their relationship satisfaction with significant others. 3) to explore the prevalence of mental health symptoms, using Cultural Formulation Interview of the DSM IV.

Background: In the United States, grandparents across class, race and gender lines have recommitted to the parent role as full-time caregivers for their grandchildren. The literature indicates that this time commitment ranges from three to ten years, usually with very limited resources available to support these older adults. Multiple social factors have been identified as influencing this trend on the phenomenon among these elderly caregivers. These include: inability for adult children to take care of their own children as a result of incarceration; effects of substance abuse or other mental illnesses; and other factors such as child abuse and abandonment, unemployment, divorce or death. Consequently, these grandparents have been reported to experience physical, psychological, emotional, social, and financial strain. To date, limited research has been conducted to better understand the experiences of older African American grandparents, particularly, the mental health impact of this role on their psychosocial wellbeing.

Methods: Using Grounded Theory qualitative method, interviews were conducted with grandmothers recruited from Oakland and the surrounding Bay Area. Snowball sampling technique was used to recruit 55 years and older, English-speaking, African American grandparents providing care to their grandchild for at least six months. The interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed and analyzed using both open and axial coding as well as reflexive and analytic memoing congruent with the methodologically. This iterative analytic process allowed the researcher to identify themes emerging from the data and develop a conceptual framework of the basic social processes surrounding the older African American grandparents who are primary caregivers for their grandchildren.

Findings: In congruence with grounded theory methods, saturation was achieved as participant narratives revealed underlying factors that influence the caregiving experiences of these older grandparents under the themes of Value System, External/Social Factors, and The Core. These findings are consistent with the literature siting both negative and positive impacts of caregiving on the social, financial and physiological wellbeing of older grandparents who care for their grandchildren. Additionally, this study highlighted the importance of utilizing appropriate methodological approaches to better understand the phenomenon and identified areas of potential psychosocial interventions.

Implications: These findings could contribute to a better understanding of the experiences of older African American grandparents as caregivers for their grandchildren. This study could also inform other researchers and clinicians who seek explanatory models upon which to design interventions or tailor social services such as childcare and respite care for older adult caregivers to grandchildren.