Search Results (8)

Juvenile substance use continues to be well researched. Prior research suggests that youth substance use can have far-reaching impacts. While several causes of substance use have been explored, including parental supervision and family structure, it is unclear if caregiver type can impact a juvenile’s substance-using behavior. The current study uses school-level data to examine self-reported substance use among youth who reside with both biological parents, a single parent, custodial grandparent(s), or other caregiver types. The results identify significant differences in self-reported substance use across primary caregiver types. These findings have implications for specific substance use prevention programs to target youth who reside in custodial grandparent-headed households. Full article

This study examined the associations of grandparent–grandchild relational closeness and conflict with grandchildren’s socioemotional and behavioral problems, including emotional symptoms, conduct problems, hyperactivity, peer problems, and abnormal prosocial behaviors. We analyzed primary cross-sectional survey data collected from custodial grandparents in the United States using logistic regression models. The results indicated that grandparent–grandchild relational closeness was significantly associated with lower odds of custodial grandchildren having emotional symptoms, conduct problems, peer problems, and abnormal prosocial behaviors, whereas grandparent–grandchild relational conflict was significantly associated with higher odds of emotional symptoms, conduct problems, hyperactivity, peer problems, and abnormal prosocial behaviors. Implications for increasing grandparent–grandchild relational closeness and decreasing relational conflicts among grandparent-headed families are discussed, which might improve grandchildren’s socioemotional and behavioral well-being. Full article

Due to COVID-19, many schools switched to remote instruction, creating an urgency to address the technology needs of many families, including grandparent-headed families. Many grandparent-headed families (i.e., custodial grandparents) have limited access to digital devices and stable internet. Moreover, many of these grandparents lack the skills and confidence to use technology, which may affect both their grandchildren’s ability to attend school as well as their academic performance. This study investigates both the associations of grandfamilies’ access to technology and custodial grandparents’ comfort level with technology with their grandchildren’s academic attendance and performance during COVID-19. We analyzed cross-sectional survey data collected from grandparents raising grandchildren between March 2021 and February 2022 in the United States. Ordered logistic regression analyses were conducted using STATA. The key results suggested that grandfamilies’ more stable access to technology (OR = 1.54, p = 0.048) and grandparents’ high comfort level with technology (OR = 2.18, p = 0.003) during grandchildren’s remote learning were significantly associated with higher odds of grandchildren’s better school attendance. Similarly, more stable access to technology (OR = 1.53, p = 0.048) and higher comfort level with technology (OR = 1.67, p = 0.030) were significantly associated with higher odds of grandchildren’s better academic performance. The results imply the need to provide stable internet and digital devices to grandfamilies without access to these services or devices, as well as technical assistance and technical-related education workshops to custodial grandparents who are not tech-savvy. Full article

Gang involvement and delinquency are prominent issues frequently examined in criminal justice scholarship. Research has revealed that gang involvement increases the likelihood of delinquency/crime, and that youth participate in gangs for a variety of reasons including protection, status, and a sense of belonging. Although research has found that various social and familial factors increase the probability of gang involvement, it primarily focuses on males, and little work has compared how a youth’s primary caregiver influences the likelihood of gang involvement among both male and female gang members. The current study uses school level data to examine gang involvement and primary caregiver type among male and female youth. The results identify significant differences in gang involvement among boys and girls when examining primary caretaker. The findings have implications for theory and programming in connection with youth gang involvement for both boys and girls. Full article

This qualitative study examined the prevalence of the “Nine Ds,” a framework developed by Edwards and Benson for understanding the heterogeneity of reasons for which grandparents assume care of grandchildren (i.e., death, disease, detention, divorce, departure, drugs, desertion, delivery, deployment) in a contemporary sample. Using a nationwide sample of custodial grandparents (N = 322) and foster parents (N = 105), caregivers were asked their reason for assuming care of the grandchild or foster child within their care. The results of the study suggest that the Nine Ds are a useful framework, but accounted for only 21.74% of responses, indicating the Nine Ds fail to capture many of the reasons for assuming care. Three new themes—dollars, duty, and daily grind—were identified using semantic thematic analysis and are applicable to both grandfamilies and foster families. These themes represent different motivations for assuming care and provide insight into the social structures that may act as barriers to family formation. This study provides a foundation for future research examining the impact of assumed care by non-parental attachment figures on the health and well-being of both grandchildren and foster children. Full article

Background: Custodial grandparents experience greater physical health declines and higher rates of depression than their same-age peers who do not provide care, and grandchildren in grandfamilies often have behavior problems. However, few researchers have explored the impact of self-care education on decreasing these negative outcomes. Our study examined how a self-care and life-skills intervention influenced health behavior change in a sample of grandparents and grandchildren. Methods: Data were collected during eleven focus groups (and two interviews) with 55 grandparents, and one focus group with five grandchildren, at 6 months after the 6-week intervention detailed in this paper. Grandparents ranged in age from 46 to 84 years old (M = 62.19, SD = 8.24). Participating grandchildren ranged in age from 9 to 12 years old. Focus group transcripts were coded for content related to grandparents’ and grandchildren’s positive behavior changes following the intervention. Findings: Grandparents reported taking more time for themselves, reducing negative self-talk, increasing healthy physical choices, and having better communication skills after participating in the intervention. Similarly, grandchildren reported increased confidence in making friends, making good decisions, and getting along with others. Findings suggest that a self-care and life skills program show promise for improving the health and wellness of grandfamilies. Full article

Data from two waves of the Social Environment and Biomarkers of Aging Study in Taiwan were analyzed to determine the effects of custodial grandparenting on health in a longitudinal sample. Self-reported measures on respondents’ perception of their health, six health biomarkers, the presence of twelve diseases, and a measure of stress were included. Custodial Grandparents (CGPs) were significantly more likely to report worse health than their peers. However, there were no significant differences in biomarkers, and CGPs were only significantly different from non-custodial grandparents (nCGPs) regarding lower respiratory disease. Results suggest that CGPs do not have significantly worse health than nCGPs, but report feeling less healthy. This disparity is suspected to be due to energy levels or stress sources not assessed by the variables in the original study. These results and their implications based upon the stress-coping model elucidate the need to design interventions that incorporate the East Asian cultural values and practices in order to promote better health outcomes for CGP populations overall. Full article

Despite growing numbers, the nutrition practices and attitudes of skipped‑generation(s) kinship caregivers regarding feeding the dependent children in their care have not been examined. In this qualitative study, transcriptions of semi-structured interviews with 19 female and four male skipped-generation(s) Kansas caregivers (ages 47 to 80, 92% non-Hispanic whites, 83% female, 78% grandparents and 22% great-aunt or great‑grandparent caregivers; caring for a range of one to four children, ages three to 18, for an average of nine years) were content analyzed for how their nutrition-related practices and attitudes had changed since parenting the first time. Sub-themes regarding practices included: being more nutrition and food safety conscious now, and shifting their child feeding style. The children seemed to be adversely affected by an on-the-go lifestyle and the use of more electronics. Caregivers described their sources for child feeding advice as being based mostly on information from their mothers, physicians, and their past parenting experiences. Sub-themes for attitudes included opinions that nutrition and safe food handling are important and that nutritious food is expensive. They preferred printed or video nutrition education materials and wanted to receive information through organizations they trusted. This population could benefit from education on: infant, child, adolescent, and sports nutrition; feeding “picky eaters”; healthful recipes, “fast foods” and packaged foods; quick, inexpensive meals and snacks low in fat, sugar, and salt; limiting sedentary time; family meals; using food thermometers; and intergenerational gardening and cooking. Full article