Work

A Comparison of Custodial and Non-custodial Rural African American Grandparents on Emotional Health and Well-being

Year: 2018

Type: conference-abstract

Abstract: A large number of custodial grandparents are located in rural areas, primarily in the Southern United States. Decreased emotional health and well-being is often seen in custodial grandparents and corresponds with the responsibility of raising a grandchild. Given the limitations of access to resources, this can be a significant issue for custodial grandparents residing in rural areas. We explored the impact of caregiving by rural custodial grandparents by comparing the emotional health and well-being of custodial (n=100) and non-custodial grandparents (n=98). For custodial grandparents, a negative relation was found between subjective well-being scores and depression. There was no association in non-custodial grandparents. Findings suggest regardless of caregiving status, the unique challenges faced by rural residents may impact grandparents; the custodial grandparent role can further impact rural residents. Further research into identification and creation of interventions to address the unique role of rural custodial grandparents is indicated.

Source: Innovation in Aging

DOI: 10.1093/geroni/igy023.2260

Authors: M R Crowther, C D Ford, B Lian, Q Mitchell

Institutions: University of Alabama, Mercer University

Language: English

Topic: Intergenerational Family Dynamics and Caregiving

Subfield: Sociology and Political Science

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $3,977