Blackburn J.A., Dulmus C.N. (Editors). Handbook of gerontology: evidence-based approaches to theory, practice, and policy

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CHAPTER 15

Parenting Grandchildren

HWA-OK HANNAH PARK and JAN STEVEN GREENBERG

URING THE DECADES

of the 1970s and 1980s, researchers focused on the sig-

nificance and meaning of grandparenthood and on the grandparents’

level of satisfaction with this role (Cherlin & Furstenberg, 1986; Korn-

haber, 1985; Troll, 1983; Wood & Robertson, 1976). This interest in grandparent-

hood was explained, in part, by increases in the life expectancy of individuals

along with improvements in the health of older adults and a rapid growth in the

number of single-parent families due to divorce or nonmarital parenthood

(Pruchno & Johnson, 1996; Robertson, 1995). Longer life expectancy and im-

proved health and functioning of older adults has both extended the length of the

grandparenting role as well as the number of years in which older adults remain

actively involved in the life of their grandchildren. Whereas in 1900, most grand-

children never knew their grandparents, by 2000 over 96% of children under the

age of 20 had at least one living grandparent (Cherlin & Furstenberg, 1986; Uhlen-

berg & Kirby, 1998).

During the past decade, the focus has shifted away from the normative role of

grandparenthood to the role of grandparents as caregivers to their grandchildren

(Fuller-Thomson, Minkler, & Driver, 1997). According to the U.S. Census Bureau,

the number of children under 18 living in households headed by a grandparent

has grown from 2.2 million (or 3.2% of children in the United States) in 1970 to

approximately 4 million (or 5.5% of children) in 1997 (Lugaila, 1998). Although

the majority of grandparent-headed households also include at least one of the

grandchild’s parents, since 1990 the fastest growing type of grandparent-headed

household is one in which the grandparents and their grandchildren reside to-

gether without the grandchild’s parents. By 2000, it has been estimated that ap-

proximately 2.4 million grandparents were responsible for most of the basic

needs of their grandchildren (Bryson, 2001).

The role of grandparent caregiving has many challenges in common with

those faced by elders caring for a frail elderly family member. Both grandparent

caregivers and caregivers of elders are faced with multiple care-giving demands

that require an output of time and energy at a time in their lives when they may

397

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be experiencing diminished capacity due to age-related changes. In addition,

the challenges of caregiving are likely to have rippling effects, producing addi-

tional strains in the areas of finances and family and social relationships. Fi-

nally, although the burdens of care are always present, both groups of

caregivers are likely to experience many aspects of the care-giving role as re-

warding and providing feelings of intimacy and a sense of meaning and pur-

pose in life (Jendrek, 1993; Kramer, 1997; Minkler & Roe, 1993; Schwartz &

Gidron, 2002).

Yet the differences between caring for a grandchild and caring for a frail el-

derly relative are greater than the similarities. First, the distinctive nature of

the grandparent-grandchild relationship gives rise to several unique stressors

faced by grandparent caregivers that are not commonly encountered by other

care-giving populations. Whereas most caregivers for the elderly are legally

empowered to make decisions for the elder, legal custody of a child is not auto-

matically bestowed on grandparent caregivers. Grandparents thus must seek

the parents’ permission to make decisions for the child. This can be quite stress-

ful if the grandparent and parent have differing views of what is in the best in-

terest of the child. In addition, although all caregivers face housing challenges,

grandparent caregivers living in public housing for seniors, which is not un-

common, may fear eviction if their skipped-generation family configuration vi-

olates the existing regulations for senior housing. Another challenge faced by

grandparent caregivers is dealing with school systems, which are oriented to-

ward younger families. These are but a few examples of the stressors encoun-

tered by many grandparent caregivers that are not typically faced by caregivers

of frail elders.

Second, whereas most caregivers of older adults will outlive the care recipient,

a major burden for grandparent caregivers is worrying about the future well-

being of their grandchild after the grandparents’ death. “What will happen when

I’m gone?” is a universal concern. Third, grandparent caregivers may be viewed

by others as not being able to care for their grandchildren. Older grandparents

may especially feel that they are being closely watched and quite vulnerable to

having their grandchild taken away (Janicki, McCallion, Grant-Griffin, &

Kolomer, 2000). This is rarely a concern among spousal or filial caregivers of older

adults or parents caring for children with disabilities.

Fourth, most caregivers are providing care for a frail elder because of the

elder’s chronic cognitive, mental, or physical disability, whereas grandparents

typically have assumed the care-giving role because of the parents’ incapacity.

Thus, it is not uncommon for grandparents to not only have care-giving responsi-

bilities for their grandchild but also be providing considerable support and assis-

tance to the grandchild’s parent. Finally, whereas the trajectory of an elder’s

disability is typically one of increasing disability of the care recipient and greater

dependence on the caregiver, grandchildren move toward greater independence

as they age. As the grandchild moves into adolescence, grandparents have dimin-

ishing influence over the grandchild’s behavior. Coping with adolescence is in

general a stressful time for parents, and may be amplified for grandparents be-

cause of the wider cultural gap between the generations. As we discuss in this

chapter, these unique challenges faced by grandparents must be considered in

developing community-based programs and services to target grandparents car-

ing for their grandchild.

Parenting Grandchildren 399

This chapter begins with an overview of the literature on the prevalence of the

grandparent care-giving phenomenon and provides a description of the charac-

teristics of this emerging and growing population. Next, we examine the context

of grandparent caregiving, reasons for providing primary care to grandchildren,

the impact of caregiving on grandparents, and factors associated with the well-

being of grandparent caregivers. Economic policy issues related to grandparent

caregivers are reviewed and evidence-based interventions for grandparent care-

givers and their families are considered. Finally, recommendations for practice,

policy, and future research are discussed.

A PROFILE OF GRANDPARENT CAREGIVERS

IN THE UNITED STATES

REVALENCE

As shown in Figure 15.1, in 2000 5.3% (approximately 3.8 million) children

under the age of 18 lived in a household headed by grandparents, and of these,

1.4 million lived in a grandparent-headed household with neither parent being

Figure 15.1 Grandchildren in Grandparents’ Home, by Presence of Parents.

Sources:

Table CH-7: Grandchildren Living in the Home of Their Grandparents: 1970 to Present,

the U.S. Bureau of the Census, 2004, retrieved May 10, 2006, from www.census.gov

/population/socdemo/hh-fam/tabCH-7.pdf. Data from 1970 and 1980 censuses and 1991,

1997, and 2000, Current Population Surveys as reported in

America’s Families and Living

Arrangements: 2000

(U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Reports, Series P20-537),

by J. Fields and L. Casper, 2001, Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, and

earlier reports.

1970 1980 1991 1997 2000

Percent of Children under 18

3.2%

3.6%

5.1%

5.5%

5.3%

0.5

0.9

0.8

0.7

2.5

2.4

1.2

1.5

2.6

0.1

0.2

0.3

1.8

1.9

1.4

1.6

1.4

0.0

1.0

2.0

3.0

4.0

5.0

6.0

Both parents Mother only Father only No parent

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Table 15.1

Percent of Children under 18 with Grandparent in Home by Number of

Parents in Home and Race: 1940−2001

Total Two Parents One Parent No Parent

Racial Racial Racial Racial

Diff. Diff. Diff. Diff.

Year White Black (W−B) White Black (W−B) White Black (W−B) White Black (W−B)

1940 10.3 16.0 −5.7 7.2 5.3 1.9 1.8 3.1 −1.3 1.3 7.6 −6.3

1950 10.6 18.5 −7.9 7.7 6.9 0.8 1.8 4.0 −2.2 1.1 7.6 −6.5

1960 6.8 15.8 −9.0 4.7 5.2 −0.5 1.4 4.4 −3.0 0.7 6.2 −5.5

1970 5.4 13.0 −7.6 3.0 3.5 −0.5 1.2 4.6 −3.4 0.9 4.9 −4.0

1980 4.8 12.2 −7.4 2.3 1.7 0.6 1.5 5.7 −4.2 1.0 4.8 −3.8

1991 5.3 14.9 −9.6 2.1 1.1 1.0 2.3 8.4 −6.1 0.9 5.4 −4.5

2001 6.8 14.8 −8.0 2.7 1.6 1.1 2.8 7.9 −5.1 1.2 5.1 −3.9

Sources: America’s Children: Resources from Family, Government, and the Economy,

by D. J. Hernandez and

D. E. Meyer, 1993, New York: Russell Sage Foundation; “Grandparenthood over Time: Historical and Demo-

graphic Trends” (pp. 23–39), by P. Uhlenberg and J. B. Kirby, in M. E. Szinovacz (Ed.),

Handbook on Grandpar-

enthood,

1998, Westport, CT: Greenwood Press;

The Diverse Living Arrangements of Children: Summer 1991

(Current Population Reports, Household Economic Studies, P70-38) by the U.S. Bureau of the Census, 1994,

Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, retrieved May 10, 2006, from http://www.census.gov

/population/socdemo/child/p70-38.pdf; and

Table C2: Household Relationship and Living Arrangements of Chil-

dren under 18 Years,

by the U.S. Bureau of the Census, 2001b, retrieved May 10, 2006, from http://www

.census.gov/population/www/socdemo/hh-fam/p20–537_00.html. Reprinted with permission.

present, a family structure we refer to as the “skipped generation.” Between

1970 and 1991, substantial increases occurred in the number of children living

with a single parent in a grandparent’s home. In 1970, approximately 817,000

or 1.2% of children lived with their mother in their grandparent’s home. By

1991, this increased to 1,674,000 or 2.6% of children. As shown in Figure 15.1,

there also was a considerable increase between 1991 and 1997 in the number of

grandchildren living with their grandparents only. In 1991, 1.4% of children

(937,000) lived with their grandparents only; by 1997 the number grew to 1.8%

(1,309,000). The number of these skipped-generation households (no parent

present) continued to increase in 2000, although other family structures involv-

ing grandparents remained stable or showed a slight decline.

As can be seen in Table 15.1, the likelihood of a child living with his or her

grandparents is strongly influenced by race. In 2001, African American children

were more than twice as likely as White children to be living with their grand-

parents. For both African American and White children, there has been a dra-

matic drop in the number of children living in a two-parent household along with

their grandparent. The number of White children who live with a single parent

and a grandparent increased by 55% between 1940 and 2001. In contrast, there

has been a 155% increase during the same period in the number of African Amer-

ican children living with a single parent and grandparent. The proportion of

White children living with a grandparent only (an indicator that the grandparent

is the sole caregiver of the grandchild) has been relatively stable since 1970. Al-

though the proportion of African American children living in this type of family

declined between 1960 and 1980, this trend has reversed itself in recent years and

grew approximately 6% between 1980 and 2001.

Parenting Grandchildren 401

EMOGRAPHIC

HARACTERISTICS OF

RANDPARENT

-H

EADED

AMILIES

Bryson and Casper (1999), using data from the 1997 Current Population Survey

(CPS), report that 51% of grandparent-headed families are maintained by both

grandparents, 43% by grandmothers with no spouse present, and only 6% by grand-

fathers alone, regardless of the presence of a parent. Among these families, substan-

tial differences emerge between grandmothers living in skipped-generation

families (no parent present) and other grandparent-headed family structures (i.e.,

grandmothers living with a grandchild and the grandchild’s parent; grandmothers

living with their spouse, a grandchild, and the grandchild’s parent; and grandfa-

ther-headed families). As shown in Table 15.2, single grandmother caregivers in

skipped-generation families were more likely than other grandparent heads of

household to be Black, poor, and in poor or fair health and less likely to have gradu-

ated from high school and be employed.

U.S. Census Bureau data do not allow one to determine how families headed by

grandparent caregivers differ from other families headed by grandparents who do

not live with grandchildren because the Census Bureau does not ask respondents

whether they are grandparents. Grandparent families are identifiable only if the

respondent has grandchildren in the household. To investigate how grandparents

caring for grandchildren differ from the general population of grandparents with-

out these care-giving responsibilities, Fuller-Thomson et al. (1997) investigated

the characteristics of grandparents who had assumed primary responsibilities for

their grandchildren for at least 6 months (“custodial grandparents,” as the authors

referred to them), using data from the 1992–1994 National Survey of Families and

Households (NSFH). They found that more than 1 in 10 grandparents (10.9% of

3,477 grandparents in the study) in the United States cared for a grandchild for at

least 6 months at some point in their lives. Among the final sample of 173 custodial

grandparents interviewed, 77% were women and the majority (62%) were non-

Hispanic White; 27% were Black, 54% were married, and 43% had less than a high

school education. The mean age of the custodial grandparents in 1993 was 59.4

years. They had mean incomes of $31,643 and 23% reported living in poverty.

When compared to grandparents with no primary responsibilities for a grandchil-

dren’s care, custodial grandparents were more likely to be younger, Black, women,

and living in poverty. These grandparent caregivers were less likely to have com-

pleted high school and less likely to be currently married.

In summary, a common profile of grandparent caregivers is emerging. First,

grandmothers are more likely to be caring for grandchildren than are grandfa-

thers. As has been noted, women are far more likely to provide the vast majority

of family care over their life course (Neal, Chapman, Ingersoll-Dayton, & Emlen,

1993) than men, who tend to assume a supportive and secondary role (Goldberg-

Glen & Sands, 2000). Thus, it is not surprising that the CPS data indicate that 62%

of grandparents who maintained families for their grandchildren in 1997 were

grandmothers (Bryson & Casper, 1999).

Second, many care-giving grandparents are younger than age 65, with many

still in their midlife (aged 45 to 55), which casts doubt on the “frail, dependent

grandparents” image. Many care-giving grandparents are still actively providing

care for their older parents and working part or full time (Jendrek, 2003).

Third, although the phenomenon of grandparent caregiving appears to have

become more common across racial groups, children living in grandparent-

headed households are disproportionately represented by minority groups. In

402

Table 15.2

Characteristics of Grandparents Who Coreside with Grandchildren

in Grandparent-Maintained Families: 1997

Grandparent-Maintained Families

Skipped- Three-Generational

Generational Household

Household (At Least

(No Parent) One Parent)

Grand- Both Grand- Both Grand-

mother Grand- mother Grand- father

Characteristics Total Only parents Only parents Only*

Grandmothers, total (number)

2,292 340 412 702 838 (X)

Percent distribution of grandmothers 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 (X)

Age

Under 45 19.4 6.9 14.8 24.2 22.9 (X)

45–54 36.0 34.1 35.2 30.1 42.0 (X)

55–64 29.5 36.9 36.4 25.4 26.5 (X)

65 and older 15.1 22.2 13.6 20.3 8.6 (X)

Race and Ethnicity

Caucasian 48.0 27.9 62.8 38.6 56.7 (X)

African American 31.0 53.5 18.8 45.4 16.0 (X)

Hispanic 16.4 15.8 15.3 12.5 20.5 (X)

Other 4.5 2.8 3.2 3.5 6.8 (X)

Education

< High school graduate 35.5 45.9 41.0 36.6 27.7 (X)

High school graduate 40.2 30.4 39.3 38.5 45.9 (X)

Some college 24.3 23.7 19.7 25.0 26.4 (X)

Marital Status

Married, spouse present 56.1 0.9 100.0 4.8 100.0 (X)

Divorced, separated 22.9 50.3 na 50.4 na (X)

Widowed 15.4 36.1 na 32.9 na (X)

Never married 5.5 12.7 na 11.9 na (X)

Work Experience in 1996

Did not work 43.6 61.8 46.3 38.2 39.3 (X)

Worked part-time 19.6 16.8 21.5 16.3 22.5 (X)

Worked full-time 36.9 21.4 32.2 45.6 38.3 (X)

Mean Income

Total household $43,783 $19,750 $41,709 $35,334 $61,632 (X)

Grandmother’s $14,063 $13,402 $11,028 $16,906 $13,440 (X)

Poverty Status

Poor 23.0 57.2 14.4 26.9 10.0 (X)

Not poor 77.0 42.8 85.6 73.1 90.0 (X)

General State of Health

Fair or poor 33.6 51.0 28.9 36.4 26.5 (X)

Good 31.2 27.9 32.4 26.4 36.0 (X)

Very good 21.9 12.0 27.2 22.9 22.6 (X)

Excellent 13.3 9.1 11.6 14.3 14.9 (X)

(continued)

403

Table 15.2

(Continued)

Grandparent-Maintained Families

Skipped- Three-Generational

Generational Household

Household (At Least

(No Parent) One Parent)

Grand- Both Grand- Both Grand-

mother Grand- mother Grand- father

Characteristics Total Only parents Only parents Only*

Grandfathers, total (number)

1,402 (X) 412 (X) 838 152

Percent distribution of grandfathers 100.0 (X) 100.0 (X) 100.0 100.0

Age

Under 45 14.9 (X) 11.0 (X) 16.9 13.8

45 to 54 32.0 (X) 23.7 (X) 38.4 19.3

55 to 64 32.6 (X) 38.8 (X) 29.9 31.0

65 and older 20.5 (X) 26.5 (X) 14.8 35.9

Race and Ethnicity

Caucasian 60.3 (X) 63.6 (X) 59.0 58.1

African American 18.3 (X) 19.5 (X) 16.2 26.0

Hispanic 17.3 (X) 14.6 (X) 19.2 14.1

Other 4.2 (X) 2.2 (X) 5.6 1.7

Education

< High school graduate 37.1 (X) 40.6 (X) 35.3 37.7

High school graduate 37.1 (X) 36.1 (X) 37.6 36.6

Some college 25.8 (X) 23.3 (X) 27.1 25.6

Marital Status

Married, spouse present 90.1 (X) 100.0 (X) 100.0 8.6

Divorced, separated 6.1 (X) (X) (X) (X) 56.0

Widowed 3.2 (X) (X) (X) (X) 29.0

Never married 0.7 (X) (X) (X) (X) 6.4

Work Experience in 1996

Did not work 27.9 (X) 30.6 (X) 22.7 49.3

Worked part-time 17.5 (X) 19.9 (X) 17.4 12.0

Worked full-time 54.5 (X) 49.5 (X) 59.9 38.7

Mean Income

Total household $53,811 (X) $41,709 (X) $61,632 $43,476

Grandmother’s $27,259 (X) $24,852 (X) $29,296 $22,561

Poverty Status

Poor 12.4 (X) 14.4 (X) 10.0 19.9

Not poor 87.6 (X) 85.6 (X) 90.0 80.1

General State of Health

Fair or poor 28.7 (X) 32.7 (X) 24.6 40.0

Good 33.9 (X) 31.1 (X) 35.6 31.9

Very good 22.0 (X) 21.5 (X) 24.4 10.1

Excellent 15.4 (X) 14.7 (X) 15.3 18.0

Note:

Numbers in thousands, Percent distribution of characteristics. (X) = Not applicable.

* Grandfather-maintained families may or may not include a parent of the children. The investigators combined

skipped- with three-generation families headed by grandfathers in their report due to the small sample size, as

compared to the size of other types of grandparent-headed families.

Adapted from

Coresident Grandparents and Grandchildren: U.S. Bureau of the Census, Current Population

Reports, P23–198.

by K. R. Bryson, and L. Casper, (1999), retrieved May 9, 2006, from http://www.census.gov

404 E

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2000, 12.1% of all African American children under 18 years of age were living

with grandparents, compared to 6.1% of Hispanic and 3.4% of Caucasian children

(U.S. Bureau of the Census, 2001b). With regard to the lifetime prevalence of

grandparent primary caregiving, a U.S. national study using the NSFH suggests

that about 30% of African American grandmothers and 14% of African American

grandfathers had assumed primary responsibility for a grandchild for at least 6

months (Szinovacz, 1998), compared with 11% of the total number of 3,477 grand-

parents in the study who did so (Fuller-Thomson et al., 1997).

Finally, one of the most striking findings is the disproportionately high level of

poverty among grandparent caregivers. In the 1997 CPS data, 57% of single grand-

mother caregivers in the skipped-generation families lived in poverty (Casper &

Bryson, 1998), and 58% of the 479 self-identified grandparent primary caregivers in

an American Association of Retired Persons’ study reported living on a fixed in-

come (Woodworth, 1996). Thus, the prototypical grandparent caring for a grand-

child is an African American single woman in midlife who is living in poverty.

CONTEXT OF GRANDPARENT CAREGIVING

EASONS FOR

ROVIDING

RIMARY

ARE TO

RANDCHILDREN

The available evidence suggests that grandparents do not seek out the role of co-

parent or caregiver to their grandchildren, but are thrust into the role because of

problems in the lives of their adult children (Goodman & Silverstein, 2002; Jen-

drek, 1993; Pruchno & McKenney, 2000). These problems include parental sub-

stance abuse (Burton, 1992; Goodman & Silverstein, 2002; Joslin & Brouard, 1995;

Kelley, 1993; Minkler & Roe, 1993; Pruchno & McKenney, 2000), child abuse, neg-

lect, or abandonment (Dubowitz & Feigelman, 1993; Jendrek, 1994), incarceration

(Dressel & Barnhill, 1994; Woodworth, 1996), divorce (Cherlin & Furstenberg,

1986), AIDS (Burnette, 1997; Joslin & Brouard, 1995), teenage parenthood (Good-

man & Silverstein, 2002; Pruchno & McKenney, 2000), and parental death (Jen-

drek, 1994). Other researchers note that the legal mandates and related changes

in child welfare reimbursement policies and practices, which have significantly

increased placement with relatives, help explain part of the increase in grandpar-

ent care (Bell & Garner, 1996; Harden, Clark, & Maguire, 1997).

However, the reasons grandparents assume primary care-giving responsibilities

for their grandchildren are very complex and interrelated. For example, a biological

parent’s dependency on alcohol or drugs may result in child abuse or neglect. Fi-

nancial difficulties resulting from parental unemployment were also found to be

common reasons for grandparents assuming primary care of grandchildren (Bur-

nette, 1997; Minkler, Berrick, & Needell, 1999; Woodworth, 1996). Thus, the reasons

for assuming a care-giving role for a grandchild are tied in fundamental ways to one

another. Although conceptually one can distinguish among the reasons, in the real

lives of these families they are so closely interrelated that efforts to distinguish the

primary from the secondary reasons for taking on the role are often quite arbitrary.

MPACT OF

AREGIVING ON

RANDPARENTS

Research examining the psychological well-being of grandparent primary care-

givers has documented the elevated psychological distress among this popula-

tion. Recent research has identified these older caregivers as “hidden patients”

Parenting Grandchildren 405

(Roe, Minkler, Saunders, & Thomson, 1996), particularly if they live in poor com-

munities or have insufficient economic resources (Joslin & Harrison, 1998).

Grandparent primary caretakers have generally been found to have elevated lev-

els of psychological distress, in particular depressive symptoms, compared to

grandparents who provide supplemental care to grandchildren (Bowers &

Myers, 1999; Musil, 2000), filial or spousal caregivers (Strawbridge, Wallhagen,

Shema, & Kaplan, 1997), age-matched peers who are not caregivers (Minkler,

Fuller-Thomson, Miller, & Driver, 1997), a normative sample of parents (Kelley,

1993), or members of the general population (Janicki et al., 2000; Kelley, Whitley,

Sipe, & Yorker, 2000).

In one of the more rigorously designed longitudinal studies of caregivers,

spanning 20 years, Strawbridge and his colleagues (1997) compared three groups

of caregivers (filial caregivers, spousal caregivers, and grandparent caregivers) to

noncaregivers. They found that, in 1974, filial and spousal caregivers did not dif-

fer from noncaregivers, but grandparent caregivers had poorer health than non-

caregivers and more stressful life events (e.g., serious illness, financial problems,

marital problems) than the other two groups. Analysis of the second wave of data

collected 20 years later revealed that the depressive symptoms of all three groups

were greater than that of noncaregivers. Also, grandparents reported poorer

mental and physical health and more activity limitations than the other two

groups. The authors concluded that filial and spousal caregiving constitute a new

burden in an otherwise “normal” life, whereas caring for grandchildren repre-

sents “yet another aspect of a difficult life course” (p. 505).

In addition, grandparent caregiving affects not only mental health but also

physical health. Grandmother caregivers experienced poorer physical health and

a greater number of physical limitations than grandmothers who were not care-

givers (Caputo, 2001) and biological mothers with low incomes (Bachman &

Chase-Landsdale, 2005). Single grandmother caregivers rated their health as

being poorer compared to married grandmother caregivers or married women

living with a spouse (Solomon & Marx, 1999). High rates of insomnia as well as

hypertension, back and stomach problems, and the frequent presence of multiple

chronic health problems have been reported in both national and smaller-scale

studies of grandparents raising grandchildren (Dowdell, 1995; Kelley, 1993; Roe

et al., 1996). When the caregivers were great-grandmothers or had several grand-

children, they experienced a greater decline in health over the previous year.

Great-grandparents or those caring for several grandchildren might lack the en-

ergy and vitality necessary to attend to the range of problems that resulted in

their rearing their grandchildren. However, these grandparents were likely to

minimize their health problems so that they might be up to the task of caring for

their grandchildren (Pinson-Millburn, Fabian, Schlossberg, & Pyle, 1996).

Although most research has focused on declines in physical and mental health

of grandparent caregivers, there is a growing attention to the effect of caregiving

on the grandparent’s social network. Increased social isolation has been widely

recognized as a consequence of caregiving generally, and more specifically

among grandparents caring for grandchildren. A study of urban African Ameri-

can grandparents by Burton and deVries (1992) found that the caregivers often

felt socially isolated. Those caring for grandchildren in skipped-generation

households as a result of parental AIDS or substance abuse experienced feelings

of alienation (Joslin & Harrison, 1998). Social alienation was also experienced by