The Twelve Ds: An Update to Edwards and Benson’s Reasons for Non-Parental Caregiving
Abstract
:1. Introduction
1.1. Nine Ds
- Divorce. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the most recent divorce rate was 6 per 1000 of the total population [7]. Due to the negative factors such as marital stress, financial instability, and aggressive disputes often present during a divorce, parents may ask their children’s grandparents to care for the children. While the literature supports divorce as one of the nine reasons for grandparents assuming care, it is worth noting that the divorce rate is lower as of 2016 compared to a decade prior, which may affect the overall prevalence of current and future grandfamilies forming as a result of divorce. A possible explanation of the lower divorce rates are lower annual marriage rates, which are projected to continue declining [8]. Original research by Shin and colleagues evaluated adolescent adjustment after parental divorce, specifically evaluating grandparent caregivers who raised their grandchildren. Their study found that grandparents were more likely to seek and accept help from outside the family to aid in burdens associated with caregiving [9].
- Drugs. Parental drug use can lead to a child being voluntarily or involuntarily placed in the grandparent’s home. The connection between drug addiction and grandfamilies has received particular attention in the literature as a result of the opioid epidemic, which was declared a national public health emergency in 2017 by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. There has been an increase in the number of children living with grandparents, and furthermore, it was found that the states with the most grandfamilies also had the highest opioid prescription numbers [10,11]. A qualitative study of 15 grandparents who were raising their grandchildren as a result of the opioid epidemic showed that existing prevention and intervention services were not adequate in meeting grandparent caregiver needs as they related to legal, financial, emotional, and family needs [12].
- Desertion. When the child is abandoned by their parents, often due to abuse or neglect, and the grandparent takes responsibility for raising them. This may take the form of children being sent to live with their grandparents after an abuse report is filed with a state welfare agency, such as Child Protective Services [2].
- Disease. Debilitating diseases can cause parents to be unable to care for their child. Historically, the literature has highlighted the impacts of a parent having significant health crises, such as cancer and AIDS, as main reasons for grandparents to assume care of their grandchildren [3]. Other examples of diseases may include physical illnesses such as multiple sclerosis or severe mental illnesses [13]. Another significant health crisis that may impact the future prevalence of disease as a differential reason for care is COVID-19, which has affected millions of individuals around the globe [14]. Original qualitative research on grandparents who raised grandchildren as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic found that both grandparents and grandchildren had increased feelings of isolation. Zakari and colleagues called for telehealth support services to minimize feelings of self-isolation within this population [15].
- Departure. Most common in impoverished countries or regions where resources and opportunities are scarce, parents may choose to migrate to a developed country to find better access to employment. Children are left in the care of grandparents during the parent’s departure [3]. This may also include families who have been impacted by immigration issues, such as deportation. A study by Beltran and Cooper found that these grandfamilies face barriers related to the immigration status of the child, which may impact the ability to apply for guardianship, enroll the child in school, and consent to health care choices for the child [16].
- Death. Grandparents may be inclined to assume the care of a grandchild when a child’s parent dies. Specifically, studies cite that grandparents choose to assume care in order to avoid foster care for the grandchild [17]. Research on children who have experienced the loss of a parent show that they are in significant need of support. Grandfamilies are affected by the death of a parent in unique ways, as both the grandparent and the grandchild are mourning the loss the of the child’s parent. These grandfamilies may have an increased need for grief counseling and support services compared to other grandfamilies [18].
- Delivery. When adolescents give birth, many are unprepared to enter into the responsibilities of parenthood, causing grandparents to assume care for the infant. In 2017, the CDC estimated a birth rate of 18.8 per 1000 women aged 15–19 in the United States, totaling 194,377 infants born to adolescents. This statistic, while dropping, may have a salient impact on differential reasons for assuming care. Bailey and colleagues analyzed the lived experiences of 26 grandparent caregivers and the burdens they faced. For those who were raising grandchildren as a result of a teenage pregnancy, they reported increased financial strain due to a number of unexpected expenses. Many caregivers stated they had to delay their retirement as a result [19].
- Detention. Parents who are in jail or prison are unable to care for their child, and a new guardian is needed while they are incarcerated. Based on a 2016 survey of prison inmates, an estimated 1.5 million children (under the age of 17) had a parent who was in either a state or federal prison, potentially causing grandparents to assume care of the grandchild [20]. A recent study found that over 1000 people give birth in prison each year, and identified grandparents as the most common caregiver for these children [21].
- Deployment. Children of military members may be cared for by a grandparent if the parent is deployed for war. Historically, large wars have been emphasized as a reason for grandparents to assume care of their grandchildren, such as Operation Iraqi Freedom [22]. The results from a qualitative study on the lived experiences of 23 grandparent caregivers due to deployment found that these grandparents face significant challenges in their intimate and social relationships and have high levels of stress, which may impact the grandchildren for which they care [22].
1.2. Current Study
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Participants
2.2. Measures
2.3. Procedures
2.4. Raters
3. Results
3.1. Dollars (2.56%)
- Because [my grandchild’s] parent cannot afford to raise them by themselves. [CGP, F, 56]
- My daughter needed our help, financially. [CGP, F, 49]
- To help offset childcare for my son (my grandson’s dad). [CGP, F, 57]
- To help their parents, who are both unemployed. [FP, F, 57]
3.2. Daily Grind (4.81%)
- I am not raising my grandchild all by myself. My daughter also lives with us. I only watch [my grandchild] during the day so she can work. [CGP, F, 52]
- I’m helping to raise [my granddaughter] while her mother goes to school and her father drives a truck. [CGP, F, 71]
- I’m helping her mom! She is working full time and I help her with raising. The dad isn’t involved. [CGP, F, 44]
- My children work. [CGP, M, 71]
3.3. Duty (68.91%)
- I didn’t want them to be put in the system. They are the apples of my eyes and I don’t want them to be cared for by anyone but family! [CGP, F, 50]
- Because I love my son and my grandchildren. I don’t want [my son] to lose his children. [CGP, F, 48]
- It was the right thing to do. [CGP, F, 64]
- Family is very important. Blood takes care of blood. You do what you must. [CGP, F, 61]
- I love them. It’s my responsibility to do the best I can for my children and grandchildren. [CGP, F, 65]
- I was a child in [foster]care and I wanted to give back and adopt. [FP, F, 29]
- I was a foster kid and I wanted to give back. [FP, F, 35]
- To make a difference. [FP, M, 45]
3.4. Note on Foster Parents
- Because I’ve always been interested in having kids but cannot have any of my own. [FP, F, 20]
- Because I couldn’t get pregnant. [FP, F, 38]
- My husband and I wanted a child and because we are both males, we wanted to adopt a child. [FP, M, 34]
4. Discussion
5. Limitations and Future Directions
6. Conclusions
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Foster Parents | Custodial Grandparents | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
M | SD | % | M | SD | % | |
Difficulty paying bills (1 = Not much difficulty, 4 = A lot of difficulty) | 3.10 | 0.91 | 2.63 | 1.04 | ||
Highest level of education | ||||||
High School Diploma or GED | 17.1 | 41.9 | ||||
Associate Degree or Vocational License | 28.6 | 29.8 | ||||
Bachelor’s Degree | 25.7 | 17.7 | ||||
Master’s Degree | 20.0 | 5.0 | ||||
Doctorate or Professional Degree | 6.7 | 0.3 | ||||
None | 1.9 | 5.3 | ||||
Marital status | ||||||
Married | 78.1 | 52.3 | ||||
Widowed | 1.0 | 10.5 | ||||
Divorced | 1.9 | 25.1 | ||||
Single, never married | 12.4 | 6.2 | ||||
Number of children under care | 1.34 | 0.65 | - | 0.43 | 0.74 | - |
Child age | 7.86 | 4.14 | - | 8.25 | 5.04 | - |
Child gender | ||||||
Male | - | - | 55.2 | - | - | 51.4 |
Female | - | - | 44.8 | - | - | 47.1 |
Reason for Care | κ | 95% Confidence Interval | Agreement |
---|---|---|---|
Death | 0.86 | 0.70–0.96 | High |
Disease | 1.00 | 0.90–1.10 | High |
Detention | 0.89 | 0.78–0.99 | High |
Divorce | 0.95 | 085–1.06 | High |
Drugs | 0.91 | 0.80–1.01 | High |
Desertion | 1.00 | 0.90–1.10 | High |
Delivery | 1.00 | 0.90–1.10 | High |
Deployment | 0.86 | 0.75–0.96 | High |
Dollars | 1.00 | 0.90–1.10 | High |
Daily Grind | 1.00 | 0.90–1.10 | High |
Duty | 0.99 | 0.88-1.09 | High |
Reason for Care | Grandparents | Foster Parents | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
Frequency | % | Frequency | % | |
Death | 6 | 2.60 | 1 | 1.24 |
Disease | 7 | 3.03 | 1 | 0.62 |
Detention | 8 | 3.46 | 2 | 1.25 |
Divorce | 11 | 4.77 | 0 | 0 |
Departure | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Drugs | 11 | 4.76 | 0 | 0 |
Desertion | 15 | 6.49 | 0 | 0 |
Delivery | 8 | 3.46 | 0 | 0 |
Deployment | 4 | 1.73 | 0 | 0 |
Duty | 138 | 59.74 | 77 | 48.73 |
Dollars | 8 | 3.46 | 0 | 0 |
Daily Grind | 15 | 6.49 | 0 | 0 |
Total | 231 | 71.74 | 81 | 77.14 |
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Lopez, A.R.; Nadorff, D.K.; Peters, D. The Twelve Ds: An Update to Edwards and Benson’s Reasons for Non-Parental Caregiving. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2023, 20, 5618. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20095618
Lopez AR, Nadorff DK, Peters D. The Twelve Ds: An Update to Edwards and Benson’s Reasons for Non-Parental Caregiving. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2023; 20(9):5618. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20095618
Chicago/Turabian StyleLopez, Acacia R., Danielle K. Nadorff, and Delaney Peters. 2023. "The Twelve Ds: An Update to Edwards and Benson’s Reasons for Non-Parental Caregiving" International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 20, no. 9: 5618. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20095618
APA StyleLopez, A. R., Nadorff, D. K., & Peters, D. (2023). The Twelve Ds: An Update to Edwards and Benson’s Reasons for Non-Parental Caregiving. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 20(9), 5618. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20095618