Article

Demographic and Clinical Characteristics of Emotionally Disturbed Children Being Raised by Grandparents

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Abstract

Among 233 youths treated at a community mental health center, 51 were living with their grandparents. Youths who lived with grandparents were more likely to be male, African American, and younger. Frequent psychiatric diagnoses included oppositional defiant disorder, depressive disorders, and anxiety disorders. Common reasons for youths' placement with grandparents included parents' absence, substance abuse, or incarceration; abuse by parents; and death of parents. Caregivers were most often maternal grandmothers, and more than one-third of the grandmothers were age 62 or older. The findings highlight the need to develop treatment interventions for youths who are living with their grandparents and to create public policies to support grandparent caregivers.

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... A handful of studies, however, provide preliminary evidence that custodial grandchildren do face higher risk. For instance, Ghuman and colleagues (18) found that 22% of 233 youths attending an inner-city community mental health center for treatment of psychological difficulties were cared for by grandparents. Although this rate was disproportionately higher than the 6% of all children living in a grandparent's household (19), generalizability of these findings is unknown because the sample was restricted to custodial grandchildren from a single clinic. ...
... This finding is critical because a caregiver's judgment of the severity of a child's difficulties is key to bringing the child's problems to the attention of mental health providers and to pursuing services for the child (35). In this respect our findings are consistent with Ghuman and colleagues' (18) observation that custodial grandchildren are likely to have elevated mental health symptoms in need of professional intervention. ...
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Although custodial grandchildren are believed to be at greater risk of emotional and behavioral problems than children in general, scant research has examined this important public health issue. This study involves data from 733 custodial grandmothers participating in a study funded by the National Institute of Mental Health on custodial grandparenting and 9,878 caregivers from the 2001 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) who completed the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) in reference to target children between ages four and 17. These two data sets were used to determine if custodial grandmothers report greater emotional and behavioral difficulties, as measured by the SDQ, for custodial grandchildren than do caregivers of children from the NHIS normative sample. Custodial grandchildren fared worse than children from the NHIS sample across all domains measured by the SDQ subscales, regardless of the child's gender and whether reporters were recruited by population-based or convenience sampling methods. Comparisons within the sample of 733 custodial grandmothers showed that higher levels of difficulties were reported when grandmothers were caring for boys, were recruited by convenience versus population-based sampling, and were white. Comparisons of the banded scores computed for each SDQ subscale suggested that custodial grandchildren have different cutoff points than children in the general population for a likely diagnosis of a psychiatric disorder. Similar to other children in kinship care arrangements, custodial grandchildren are reported by their caregivers to have higher levels of behavioral and emotional disturbances than children in the overall U.S. population.
... Children who are raised by their grandparents may exhibit excessively higher sensitivity in their lives. A communitybased study conducted in the United States found that 21.9% of children raised by grandparents required psychiatric treatment for psychological problems [48], while 16.5% of children raised by their parents [49]. Compared to children raised by their parents, children raised by grandparents face significantly higher risks of psychological issues and adverse behaviors [50]. ...
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Objective Grandparental care has become a common phenomenon, yet there is still limited research on the long-term psychological effects on children raised by their grandparents. This study aims to explore the impact of early grandparental care experiences on university students’ social networking sites addiction, social anxiety, and loneliness. Methods A random cluster sampling method was employed to select college students from a medical school in Jiangxi for a questionnaire survey. The study measured social networking sites addiction, social anxiety, and loneliness using the Bergen Social Media Addiction Scale (BSMAS), Interaction Anxiety Scale (IAS), and Loneliness Scale (ULS-6) respectively. Additionally, grandparental care was assessed through individual questions. Data analysis was conducted using mediated effects modeling. Results In total, 4318 participants were recruited. 45.2% of participants were male and 54.8% were female. The study found a significant positive association between grandparental care experience and social networking sites addiction, social anxiety, and loneliness. The study revealed that social anxiety mediated 20.0% of the effect between grandparental care experiences and social networking sites addiction, while loneliness mediated 16.0% of this effect. Moreover, social anxiety and loneliness together mediated 12.0% of the chained effects between grandparental care experiences and social networking sites addiction. Conclusion Grandparental care has no direct impact on social networking sites addiction in adulthood. Social anxiety and loneliness play a mediating role between grandparental care and social networking sites addiction. Therefore, schools and families should prioritize efforts to enhance the physical and mental well-being of individuals receiving grandparental care. This can be achieved through targeted health promotion initiatives.
... They may suffer from insufficient interaction with parents, family conflict, uncertainty about the future, and societal stigma. Besides, custodial grandchildren may experience greater mental health difficulties than children in general (Ghuman et al., 1999). Children under the age of 18 living with relatives fared worse than children living with biological parents on most measures of behavioral, emotional, and physical well-being. ...
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In this paper attention is drawn to the phenomenon of early school leaving, which is regarded through the prism of the stratification mechanisms in the field of secondary school education in Bulgaria. A special emphasis is placed on educational segregation, related to a widening of the gap between different types of Bulgarian schools. The authors present the data of an empirical study on the opinions of secondary school students in Bulgaria about the early school leaving phenomenon, attempting to highlight a number of risk determinants that trigger school failure as a consequence of certain life and educational trajectories. It is emphasized that both a profound understanding of the risk factors, associated with early school leaving, and potential remedies should be considered in the context of a much broader socio-structural framework and a horizon of sociocultural meanings, including those, related to ethnicity. The paper concludes with a description of some main tools for prevention within the socio-existential perspective.
... Pittman and Boswell (2007) also found that youth with a co-residing grandmother reported fewer depressive symptoms over time, when compared to their peers. In contrast to the findings on co-residing grandmothers, research with custodial grandmothers tends to be more variable, but is largely confounded by the fact that in many of these cases, children were placed with grandmothers when parents were absent due to substance use or imprisonment (e.g., Ghuman, Weist, & Shafer, 1999). Findings here contribute to the literature by suggesting that co-residing grandmothers provide protection against allegations of child maltreatment. ...
Article
Background: Previous research has demonstrated the association between child maltreatment and household composition, with increased maltreatment risk generally present in single mother households. However, existing research does not fully examine the complexity and configuration of single mother households. In particular, less is known about important variants of single parent family structures, such as grandparents residing in the home, and the extent to which household compositions change across time. Objective: The present study examines rates of maltreatment allegations across various household compositions in a sample of single biological mother households. Participants and setting: Youth participants (N = 417) were part of the larger multi-site Longitudinal Studies of Child Abuse and Neglect (LONGSCAN) study. Methods: Participants completed longitudinal assessments of household composition and maltreatment allegations from ages 4 to 10. Results: The present study illustrates substantial variability in the rate of maltreatment allegations across different types of single mother household compositions. In particular, the presence of non-relatives, especially unrelated males, demonstrated an increased risk for maltreatment allegations in the home. Conversely, single mother homes with two or more adult relatives, especially grandmothers, were at reduced risk for child maltreatment allegations. Conclusions: This study highlights variability in maltreatment allegations among single mother homes, including how maltreatment allegations vary across different household configurations, across child age periods and across different risk levels.
... The results of this study are consistent with prior investigations pointing to elevated risk of psychological difficulties within CG which have included comparisons of CG to nationally representative samples (Bramlett & Blumberg, 2007;Conway & Li, 2012;Goulette et al., 2016;, smaller scale regional studies (Dunifon & Kopko, 2011;Edwards, 2009;Kelley et al., 2011;Pittman, 2007), diverse family types sampled across large U.S. cities (Pilkauskas & Dunifon, 2016), as well as clinical reports (Harinder, Weist, & Shafer, 1999). Our findings add to this knowledge base uniquely by showing that two different national samples of CG between ages 4-12 were reported to have more psychological difficulties in comparison to similarly aged children from three different family structures sampled in the 2004 NHIS irrespective of race and gender. ...
Article
Although custodial grandchildren (CG) are likely to have more emotional and behavioral problems than children in general, only a handful of studies involving nationally representative data have investigated this important public health issue. The present study is unique in examining informant reports of psychological difficulties and prosocial behavior, obtained via the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) parent version, regarding two samples (n = 509 and n = 323) of CG between ages 4-12 and three samples of age peers from the 2004 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) residing in homes with either no birth parent (n=184), one parent (n = 1,618), or both parents (n = 3,752). A MANCOVA encompassing the main effects of sample type, child gender, and informant's race across six SDQ subscales (with informant age and education, as well as child age controlled) showed all three main effects to be statistically significant (p < .001). Between subjects effects for sample type were significant for all six subscales (p <.001), with a general pattern found whereby the two CG samples had higher difficulty and lower prosocial scores than all three NHIS samples, with corresponding effect sizes falling in the moderate to very large range. Tests of between subjects effects for child gender showed, that regardless of sample type, males typically had higher difficulty scores and lower prosocial scores than those for females. Tests of between subjects effects by informant's race showed only sporadic differences that were independent of sample type. Comparisons of the SDQ banded scores suggested that CG have considerably different cutoff points than do children in other family structures to indicate a likely diagnosis of a serious psychological disorder. We conclude that primary school aged CG are at an especially high risk for both internalizing and externalizing difficulties regardless of children's gender or informant's race.
... Abuse of children by parents was seen another reason for placement of children with grandparents. Child abuse was described by Bowers and Myers (1999), Dowdell (2004), and Ghuman, Weist, and Shafer (1999). Some authors specified the abuse as physical (Smith & Palmieri, 2007;Tompkins, 2007), mental (Ruiz, 2000), emotional (Smith & Palmieri, 2007), and sexual (Ruiz, 2000). ...
... Custodial grandchildren often have or are at risk of having physical, behavioral, and/or emotional problems stemming from circumstances that occurred prior to the grandparents assuming care. These circumstances include abuse or neglect by the biological parent, substance abuse by a parent, poor nutrition, insufficient cognitive stimulation in the early years, poverty, and inadequate health care (Ghuman, Weist, & Shafer, 1999;Janicki et al., 2000;Landry-Meyer, 1999;Smith & Palmieri, 2007;Williamson, Softas-Nall, & Miller, 2003). Children raised by grandparents experience higher levels of behavioral and emotional problems when compared to children living with their biological parents (Smith & Dannison, 2008). ...
... Despite a body of research indicating that children in the foster care system experience increased emotional and behavioral problems (Holtan, Ronning, Handegard, & Sourander, 2004;Leslie, Hurlburt, Landsverk, Barth, & Slymen, 2004;McMillen et al., 2005), studies focusing on children raised by grandparents are less available. Of the limited studies available, findings suggest that these children also have increased behavior problems (Campbell, Hu, & Oberle, 2006;Edwards, Children and Youth Services Review 33 (2011) , 2009Ghuman, Weist, & Shafer, 1999). It is important to note that many of these studies are limited by relatively small sample sizes, use of retrospective chart reviews, or use of non-standardized measures. ...
Article
Over the past few decades there has been a dramatic increase in children being raised by grandparents due to a variety of factors including child maltreatment, parental abandonment, substance abuse, and incarceration. The purpose of this study is to examine the extent of behavior problems in children being raised by grandmothers and to determine factors in their current environment that are related to child behavior problems. The study draws on McCubbin's resiliency model of family stress, adjustment and adaptation.The sample comprised of 230 children ages 2 to 16years who were being raised by grandmothers in parent-absent homes. The families were predominantly low income and African American. The grandmothers ranged in age from 37 to 80years. Grandmothers responded to several self-report measures pertaining to child behavior problems, family resources, social support, and caregiver psychological distress. Trained research assistants completed a standardized observational measure of the home environment.Results indicated that 31.3% of child participants scored in the clinically elevated range for total behavior problems, with 21.3% and 32.6% scoring in the elevated range for internalizing and externalizing behaviors, respectively. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that of the variables examined, increased psychological distress in grandmothers was most predictive of child behavior problems, followed by less supportive home environments and fewer family resources.Results of the present study underscore the need for interventions that focus on reducing child behavior problems, as well as enhancing the parenting skills of grandmothers raising grandchildren. Findings also support the need for strategies to reduce stress in grandmother caregivers and to improve access to resources needed to provide supportive home environments for their grandchildren.
... The evidence for this link is, however, limited and mixed. Caregiver network support protects youth from negative mental health outcomes (Bussing et al., 2003;Ghuman, Weist, & Shafer, 1999), with caregiver network support associated with a range of positive child outcomes, including but not limited to mental health (Hoagwood, 2005). Among children involved in the child welfare services, Coohey (2007) reports that more limited social network support is related to inadequate supervision by mothers. ...
Article
Using structural equation modeling, this study examined the relationship of caregiver network support on caregiver and child mental health need, as well as child mental health service use among 1075 8-year-old children participating in the LONGSCAN study. The final model showed acceptable fit (χ(2) = 301.476, df = 136, p<0.001; RMSEA = 0.052; CFI = 0.95). Caregiver and child mental health needs were positively related. As predicted, caregiver network support exerted a protective effect, with greater levels of caregiver network support predictive of lower caregiver and child need. Contrary to prediction, however, caregiver network support was not directly related to child service use. Higher child need was directly related to child service use, especially among children whose caregivers had mental health problems. The findings appear to indicate that lower levels of caregiver network support may exert its impact on child service use indirectly by increasing caregiver and child need, rather than by directly increasing the likelihood of receiving services, especially for African American children.
... For example, low parental monitoring has been found to increase externalizing behaviors, delinquency, and engagement in drinking behaviors for this group (Griffin, Botvin, Scheier, Diaz, & Miller, 2000; Kilgore, Snyder, & Lentz, 2000; Schiff & McKay, 2003). Elsewhere, low family social support has been linked to several child mental health outcomes including attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD; Bussing et al., 2003) and internalizing behavioral problems (Ghuman, Weist, & Schafer, 1999). However, the impact of social support may vary based on neighborhood factors. ...
Article
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Objective: This study examines the impact of the Family Connections (FC) intervention on preventing behavioral problems among urban, predominantly African American children at risk of neglect. Method: Secondary data analyses using mixed model analyses of variance (ANOVA) with repeated measures were used to examine gender differences in child behavior outcomes among 111 participating families across three time points (intake, closing, and 6 months following intervention participation). Results: From intake to closing, boys appeared to experience a larger decrease in internalizing and externalizing behaviors than girls. At 6-month follow-up, boys’ behaviors remained stable relative to results at closing; girls showed a slight decrease in behaviors over the same period. Findings also indicate a greater decrease in problem behaviors for participants in the 9-month versus 3-month version of FC. Conclusions: Positive effects of the FC intervention for African American children indicate the potential of this prevention intervention to avert negative behavior trajectories.
... It is both informative and alarming that the rates of reported use for community-based (37.2%) and school-based (50.8%) mental health services in our national sample of custodial grand-families are remarkably high in comparison to the five percent of all U.S. children age 4-17 who received mental health treatment other than medication in -2006(Simpson et al., 2008. Similarly, Ghuman, Weist and Shafer (1999) observed that 22% of 233 youths attending an inner-city community mental health center for treatment of psychological difficulties were cared for by custodial grandparents. This apparently disproportionate use of mental health services is not surprising, however, given that custodial grandchildren are far more likely than children in the overall population to be viewed by caregivers as having high levels of psychological difficulties . ...
Article
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We examined patterns and predictors of the perceived need, use, and unmet need for mental health services by custodial grandchildren within both the school-based and community-based delivery sectors. Data were self-reported by a national sample of 610 custodial grandmothers providing full-time care to grandchildren ages 6 to 17 in the absence of biological parents. Although overlapping use of services across both sectors was common, the overall use of school-based services (51%) was higher than that of community-based services (37%). Using theAndersen Social and Behavioral Model (1995) the following shared predictors of mental health service use across both sectors by custodial grand-families emerged: grandchildren's externalizing symptoms, having other grandchildren in the household with medical or psychiatric diagnoses and corresponding use of services in the other sector. Predictors were largely the same regardless of whether analyses were conducted with families recruited by probability or convenience based sampling methods. Findings suggest the necessity to coordinate and integrate the availability and implementation of mental health services for custodial grandchildren across different delivery sectors.
... For children whose parents misuse drugs, the presence of supportive, nonsubstance-misusing grandparents has been discussed as a potential protective factor (e.g., Ghuman, Weist, & Shafer, 1999;Kroll, 2004). Increasing numbers of grandparents are serving as primary caregivers for children in the child welfare system (e.g., Hirshorn, 1998;Minkler & Fuller-Thomson, 2000). ...
Article
Preventive interventions are urgently needed for children from rural, methamphetamine-involved families, who are at risk for the development of aggressive and other externalizing behavioral problems. This mixed method study explored naturally occurring sources of protection and considers the implications for targeted interventions. Participants were 41 children aged six to 14 years from rural families involved with methamphetamine and the public child welfare system, their primary caregivers, and 19 parents recovering from methamphetamine addiction. When invited during semi-structured interviews to talk about their families, 48% of children spontaneously described socially and emotionally supportive relationships with healthy grandparents. Children's reports of support from grandparents were associated with lower scores on CBCL Social Problems, [t(37)= 2.23, p<.05 ]; externalizing behaviors, [t(37)= 2.07, p<.05]; and aggressive behaviors, [t(37)= 2.75, p<.01]. When asked to talk about their families, 58% of parents spontaneously described the support their children received from grandparents, and 26% also described the support that they had received from their own grandparents. Children's and parents' descriptions of grandparent support suggest how grandparents may protect children from the development of aggressive and other externalizing behavior problems. First, grandparents may prevent obstacles to healthy development by providing their grandchildren with safe shelter and basic child care when parents are incapacitated from substance misuse. Second, they may promote their grandchildren's positive social-emotional development through supportive relationships. Third, they may promote social competence through enjoyable leisure activities with healthy adults and non-delinquent peers. Understanding naturally occurring sources of protection for children can inform the development of interventions by identifying strengths on which to build, and suggesting culturally sensitive approaches when children are struggling.
... In essence, the demographic characteristics of subjects presented in this study are an aggregation of frequently examined demographic features. While taking a look at Demographic and clinical characteristics of emotionally disturbed children, Ghuman et al (1999) examined the features of gender, ethnicity, age and residential location as primary indices of demographic characteristics. However, Colom (2003) takes this further in her report on the needs of the young Puerto Rican by adding other variables such as residential zone and type, marital status, family composition and family size, ethnic characteristics and cross-cultural experience, religious preferences, income and employment status. ...
Article
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This paper reports the findings of a study set up to establish the impact of a particular scheme on the attendance and punctuality performance of a group of Basic Skills learners against the backdrop of various theoretical postulations on managing undesirable behavior. Data collected on learners' performance was subjected to statistical analysis through the use of the SPSS analytical toolkit in order to establish the T-value, probability value and significance, as well as the confidence level of intervals. Findings from statistical analysis were then subjected to a process of corroboration through a focus group discussion with subjects in the study. Based on the findings, the study concludes that the scheme has a significant impact on someaspects of the learners' performance and advocates the introduction of novel ways, in the context of mixed approaches towards eradicating undesirable behaviors among younglearners.
... In essence, the demographic characteristics of subjects presented in this study are an aggregation of frequently examined demographic features. While taking a look at Demographic and clinical characteristics of emotionally disturbed children, Ghuman et al (1999) examined the features of gender, ethnicity, age and residential location as primary indices of demographic characteristics. However, Colom (2003) takes this further in her report on the needs of the young Puerto Rican by adding other variables such as residential zone and type, marital status, family composition and family size, ethnic characteristics and cross-cultural experience, religious preferences, income and employment status. ...
Article
We are pleased to present the second issue of the International Journal of Progressive Education (IJPE). Since the publication of the first issue in February 2005, an extensive amount of gratitude and positive feedbacks as well as an increasing number of paper submissions we have received from all parts of the academic world confirm that the existence of such an international and multilingual journal can be very beneficial to provide a platform for cross-cultural discussion and understanding of educational theory and practice. In addition, the contributions to the journal and the requests for special issues from across the globe such as from North America, Africa, Middle East, Europe and Eastern Asia convince us that IJPE is making a significant progress toward one of its mission of providing a glocal atmosphere and ongoing dialogue to globally represent multiple and local views on educational issues. Doubtlessly, such evidences have been given us additional confidence, power and strong belief to continue with what we are trying to accomplish. We would like to thank you for your encouragements and constructive suggestions and request that please continue to do so in order to make this journal successful and vibrant.
... Custodial grandparents, who provide full-time care of a grandchild in the absence of that child's parents, are also known as "skipped generation" grandparents (Pebley & Rudkin, 1999). Not only has the number of these grandparents risen dramatically over the past few decades (U.S. Bureau of the Census, 2004), there is also evidence that the grandchildren in their care are at substantial risk for psychological problems arising from parental dysfunction (Bratton, Ray, & Moffit, 1998;Brown-Standridge & Floyd, 2000;Ghuman, Weist, & Shafer, 1999). These risks include exposure to prenatal toxins, traumatic early childhood experiences, little or no appropriate interaction with parents, family conflicts, uncertainty about their future, and societal stigma (Hayslip, Shore, Henderson, & Lambert, 1998;Hirshorn, 1998;Smith, Savage-Stevens, & Fabian, 2002). ...
Article
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The authors examined the structural validity of the parent informant version of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) with a sample of 733 custodial grandparents. Three models of the SDQ's factor structure were evaluated with confirmatory factor analysis based on the item covariance matrix. Although indices of fit were good across all 3 models, a model that included a newly hypothesized positive construal method factor in addition to the 4 symptom factors (Emotional Symptoms, Conduct Problems, Hyperactivity-Inattention, Peer Problems) and the single Prosocial Behavior factor originally intended for the SDQ provided the best representation of this instrument's latent structure. Structural validity was further evidenced by measurement invariance across grandparent race and grandchild gender and age, a conceptually meaningful pattern of cross-scale correlations, and the acceptable internal reliability estimates found for each subscale. Measurement and clinical implications of the results are discussed.
Article
We conducted this first ever study comparing reports of custodial grandchildren's (CG) psychological difficulties obtained jointly from 163 custodial grandmothers (CGM) and their CG between ages 6-12. Internalizing and externalizing difficulties were indicated by whether any of the corresponding scales on the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ, reported by CGM) or Dominic Interactive (DI, reported by CG) reached the 90th percentile. Internalizing and externalizing difficulties were reported by informant types at rates higher than those typically observed in the general population, with externalizing difficulties being more prevalent among male CG. At the dichotomous level of (dis)agreement, nearly two-thirds of informant pairs showed concordance regarding whether or not they reported the CG at the 90th percentile on either externalizing and internalizing difficulties. When (dis)agreement was further broken into four specific categories (i.e., "neither report", "both report", "CGM only", and "CG only", CGM's use of mental health services, race, depressive and anxiety symptoms, harsh/punitive discipline, and warmth impacted such concordance as did CG's gender, age, and use of mental health services. The overall findings were remarkably similar regardless of which specific SDQ and DI scales were used in the analyses. The present study unearths new ground regarding the extent to which grandchildren's distress is similarly perceived by CG themselves versus their CGMs. Such findings are important to the extent that accurate estimates exist regarding the emotional difficulties CG face and lay the groundwork for timely and efficacious interventions designed to alleviate their distress.
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Presents a citation and biography for the 2002 recipient of the Psi Chi/APA Edwin B. Newman Graduate Research Award (Micheal E. Shafer). The Psi Chi/APA Edwin B. Newman Graduate Research Award is sponsored jointly by Psi Chi, the national honor society in psychology, and the APA. The award is presented annually to the psychology graduate student who submits the best research paper that was published or presented at a national, regional, or state psychological association conference during the past calendar year.
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Announces Michael E. Shafer as the recipient of the Psi Chi/APA Edwin B. Newman Graduate Research Award for 2002. A biographical statement is included, along with major works and contributions for the field. Shafer received this award for a research paper examining adolescent mental health in an understudied minority population. His research paper, entitled 'Self-Concept Among Mexican-American Boys and Girls: Validating the Self-Description Questionnaire-I', was presented at the Texas State Psychological Association annual meeting in October 2001.
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Announces Michael E. Shafer as the recipient of the Psi Chi/APA Edwin B. Newman Graduate Research Award for 2002. A biographical statement is included, along with major works and contributions for the field. Shafer received this award for a research paper examining adolescent mental health in an understudied minority population. His research paper, entitled 'Self-Concept Among Mexican-American Boys and Girls: Validating the Self-Description Questionnaire-I', was presented at the Texas State Psychological Association annual meeting in October 2001.
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This article introduces readers to four invited articles comprising a special section on implementing the Grand Challenges for Social Work Initiative. We highlight key contributions made by the authors of each article, which collectively explore implications of the grand challenges initiative for social work education, science, campus leadership, and campus–community collaboration. We describe how substantive points raised in the special section connect to the rapidly growing interdisciplinary literature on the implementation of grand challenges.
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In this study, the authors examined the combined effects of caregiver mental health, alcohol use, and social network support/satisfaction on child mental health needs among African American caregiver-child dyads at risk of maltreatment. The sample included 514 eight-year-old African American children and their caregivers who participated in the Longitudinal Studies of Child Abuse and Neglect. A structural equation model was created with caregiver mental health/alcohol use and caregiver social network support/satisfaction as the exogenous variables and child mental health need as the endogenous variable. Caregivers with less-supportive networks and whose capacity to parent was challenged by alcohol, depression, or other mental health problems had children with elevated mental health needs. These findings confirm the need to examine the effects of caregiver influences (for example, caregiver mental health and social network support/satisfaction) on mental health among African American children at risk of maltreatment and to further explain how the social networks of caregivers are accessed when caregivers and children have mental health problems. Implications for identifying mental health needs among this vulnerable group and improving their connections to formal mental health services through social network-level interventions are discussed.
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Background: Grandparents Raising and Nurturing Dependents with Disabilities (Project GRANDD) is a support program for grandparents who are the primary caregivers of grandchildren with developmental disabilities, chronic illness, and behavior or learning difficulties. A critical problem contributing to diminished quality of life for the family is the grandparents’ own poor health, as well as the lack of access to available resources. This project pairs nursing students from the local university with grandparents participating in the GRANDD support program to improve the caregiving grandparents’ health.Methods: A total of 12 nurse practitioner (NP) students were paired with six grandparents. Students performed home visits and assessments, health histories, environmental assessments, and windshield surveys over the course of several weeks. Follow-up visits for medication reconciliation, referral to resources, or for patient health education were conducted in person or via phone.Results: The grandparents’ demographic characteristics were as follows: African American females, on fixed incomes on or near poverty level, had multiple co-morbidities, and showed reluctance in seeking help because of their role as primary caretaker. Nursing students demonstrated increased awareness of the cycle of disability and disadvantage, and improved skills that enable them to aid vulnerable individuals in accessing community resources.Conclusions: This pilot program had a positive impact on students and grandparents. Much is needed regarding outcome measurement and standardization of methods, but the initial results demonstrated a beneficial relationship between NP students and Project GRANDD participants, thus contributing to the ongoing effort to break the cycle of disadvantage and disability in this vulnerable population.
Conference Paper
Background & Purpose: Poverty and exposure to community violence are noted to impact behavioral outcomes among urban youth, and recent studies suggest that urban African American boys may be of particular concern due to these concomitant neighborhood risks (Gorman-Smith, Henry & Tolan, 2004; Levanthal & Brooks-Gunn, 2003). The purpose of this study was to explore differences in internalizing and externalizing problem behaviors among urban, African American boys and girls served by the Family Connections (FC) program. Method: Secondary data analyses explored behavioral outcomes among children from 154 families who met risk criteria for neglect, and who had at least one child experiencing behavioral problems. Families were randomly assigned to receive 3- or 9-month interventions. Using mixed model analyses of variance (ANOVA) with repeated measures, differences in child behavior outcomes between boys and girls were examined among the 128 families for whom pre and post-data were available. Results: For internalizing behaviors, a significant Time x Treatment Group (F (1, 124) = 6.795, p For externalizing behaviors, significant Time x Treatment Group (F (1,124) = 9.82, p Conclusions & Implications: Developing programs that effectively reduce child behavior problems is important because of the relationship between early onset of child behavioral problems on future delinquency and substance abuse. Findings highlight the promise of an early intervention targeting problem behaviors among urban, African American children, especially boys.
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Empirical studies describing the functioning of children raised by their grandparents are noticeably limited, yet custodial grandparenting has become a prominent alternate family structure. Grandparents may function better as surrogate parents than abusive parents, nonrelatives, or foster caregivers. Although many children raised by their grandparents enjoy favorable functioning, others experience significant school-adjustment difficulties. In this study, a psychometrically sound behavior rating scale is used to examine teachers’ perspectives regarding specific social-emotional behaviors of children raised by grandparents compared to a matched group. Teachers rated children raised by grandparents as exhibiting significantly higher levels of a specific pattern of behavioral problems than a comparison group. School professionals can help the children by identifying the strengths and needs of these families and by providing effective prevention services to advance positive school and life outcomes.
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The proportion of older adults in the U.S. population is growing. By the year 2050, 21% of all Americans aged 65+ years will be members of minority groups, with African Americans comprising the largest subgroup. Disparities in health status and mortality exist between older African American and Caucasian adults. The charge to gerontolog-ical social work in the new millennium is to develop effective means of reducing racial disparities in health status. This paper presents some of the key health issues facing older African American adults and describes approaches that could be used by gerontological social work practitioners and researchers in helping to close the widening racial gap in health status.
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Forty-two grandparents who were primary caregivers to grandchildren completed self-administered questionnaires and 28 also participated in focus groups to provide their views on the appropriateness and implementation of grandchildren support groups. The vast majority (88%) felt that such support groups would be beneficial, and few differences emerged regarding how they should be ideally implemented when comparing the views of grandparents varying in educational level, age of grandchildren, and status as a human service professional.
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Participation of extended family members, particularly custodial grandparents, has generally resulted in better outcomes for abused children and relief for an overburdened child welfare system. This research explores the risk of adolescent perpetrated violence in custodial grandparent households with data from the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice. Findings suggest that living arrangements with custodial grandparents have a significant and differential impact on rates of violent offending for chronic and serious offenders by race and gender.
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The American family is truly diverse, with many forms and changes between and among forms common. Each variation in family composition presents its own unique challenges and possesses its own unique possibilities for success, building on its own unique strengths. Each family in trouble expects and demands respectful, patient, and committed assistance from the family therapist. The family therapist must appreciate the uniqueness of an individual family and the features that that family has in common with similar families and with all families. It is the commitment of parental figures to take responsibility for their children and participate actively with them in their development that creates successful family life. The family therapist's acceptance, curiosity, and respect for the family and its members encourages change and enlists strengths. This approach permits the family therapist to participate in meaningful and effective lives for each family.
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Little information exists about the daily lives of women who are grandmothers, and the differences in daily stresses based on caregiving status to grandchildren. This content analysis examines the stresses of 64 grandmothers as grouped by caregiver status (grandmothers raising grandchildren, grandmothers living in multigeneration homes, non-caregivers to grandchildren) as recorded in three-week diaries. The nature of salient issues and stressful interactions differed by caregiver groups. Grandmothers raising grandchildren reported more stresses related to grandchildren's routines, activities, and school progress, more time pressure, and difficult interactions with grandchildren. The diary entries of grandmothers in multigenerational homes reflected their supplemental role in childcare, and sometimes stressful interactions with other family members. Grandmothers with no routine caregiving to grandchildren reported more involvement with those outside the immediate family. Many general concerns about the well-being of the family represent commonalities in grandmothers despite differences in current caregiving roles to grandchildren.
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This article reports findings from two qualitative studies of black grandparents and great-grandparents who are rearing their children's children as a consequence of parental drug addiction. Data were collected in two urban black communities from 60 grandmothers, grandfathers, and great-grandmothers (ages 43–82). Only 3% of the respondents received consistent, reliable familial support in their role as surrogate parents. Although respondents found parenting their grandchildren an emotionally rewarding experience, they also incurred psychological, physical, and economic costs in performing their roles.
Article
This research is based on in-depth interviews with 114 grandparents who responded to advertisements that appeared in the media, schools, and courts. Three major categories of grandparent roles emerged from the data: custodial, living with the grandchild, and day-care roles. At one end of the continuum of care, custodial grandparents often obtain that relationship because of severe problems in the nuclear family. At the other end, day-care grandparents provide regular help to the grandchild's nuclear family. The decision to provide care is often based on an "impulse to care," especially among custodial and living-with grandparents. Grandparents who provide regular day care to grandchildren generally have offered to do so.
Article
In the wake of the HIV/AIDS and crack cocaine epidemics, poor urban communities face growing numbers of older adults, largely grandmothers, who have become surrogate parents to children orphaned by these epidemics. This study is the first in the United States to determine the prevalence of older surrogate parents among families registered at pediatric clinics. The three clinics selected were in low income neighborhoods of New York City with a high incidence of female HIV/AIDS and substance abuse. Using a 50% random sample of 1,375 records of registered families, data were obtained on the number and ages of relatives serving as surrogate parents. In 11% of these 1,375 families with children 12 years and under a parent was not the caregiver. In 8% the caregiver was a grandmother. Forty-seven percent of these women were 55 years or older, 25% were 60 years or older and 8% were 70 years or older. Most of these women were caring for more than one child. Ten percent of the total of 2,445 children, 12 years and under, lived in non-parent headed families. Eight percent lived with a grandmother, 1% with other parental generation relatives and 1% in foster care. Given the stresses associated with caregiving in late life and the greater risk of poor health among low income African-American and Hispanic elderly, older surrogate parents from these communities are a potentially high health risk population whose own needs may go unrecognized and unattended. The young ages of the children suggest that many grandparents may continue to be caregivers as they reach their sixties, seventies and even eighties. Clinical and longitudinal data are needed to determine how prolonged surrogate parenting in late life affects the health of older caregivers and the children in their care. Coordination between health and social services for the elderly and for children are needed to promote effective programs for these families.
Article
This article examines the prevalence of grandparent caregiving in the U.S. and presents a national profile of grandparent caregivers based on current data from the national Survey of Families and Households. More than one in ten grandparents are found to have cared for a grandchild for at least 6 months, with most of these having engaged in a far longer-term commitment. Although custodial grandparenting cuts across gender, class, and ethnic lines, single women, African Americans, and low income persons are disproportionately represented. Multivariate logistic analysis indicates that three groups--women, recently bereaved parents, and African Americans--have approximately twice the odds of becoming caregiving grandparents. Implications for further research, policy, and practice are discussed.
Current Population Reports (series P-20, no 461). Washington, DC, US Government Printing Office
  • A F Slauter
Slauter AF: Marital status and living arrangements: March 1991. Current Population Reports (series P-20, no 461). Washington, DC, US Government Printing Office, 1992
Grandparent-headed households on rise
  • E L Goldman
Goldman EL: Grandparent-headed households on rise. Clinical Psychiatry News, Oct 1996, p 4