Resilient Grandparent Caregivers

The study of grandparents raising grandchildren, now almost two decades old, has tended to have a negative bias, emphasizing the difficulties such people face and the negative impact that grandparent caregiving has on them physically, socially, and emotionally. This edited book seeks to reverse this trend by taking a positive approach to understanding grandparent caregivers, focusing on their resilience and resourcefulness. This method reflects a strengths-based approach and the importance of benefit-finding and positive coping. Chapters feature information from both qualitative and quantitative studies and are written by a diverse range of professionals, such as counselors, psychologists, geriatric social workers, and nurse practitioners, to provide multidisciplinary persepctives for practitioners working with grandparent caregivers. Part one discusses the positive qualities that custodial grandparents possess - resilience, resourcefulness, and benefit finding. The second part considers the sociocultural aspects of resilience and resourcefulness in grandparent caregivers. Finally, part three presents strengths-based interventions for working with custodial grandparents. Practitioners will find this to be a valuable resource in their work and the field as a whole, stimulating positive changes in attitudes toward and practices with grandparent caregivers.

Bert Hayslip, Jr., PhD, is a professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of North Texas. Gregory C. Smith, PhD, is a professor and the director of the Human Development Center at Kent State University.

Part I: Resilience and Resourcefulness among Grandparent Caregivers Smith, Dolbin MacNab, The Role of Negative and Positive Caregiving Appraisals and Key Outcomes for Custodial Grandmothers and Grandchildren. Castillo, Henderson, North, The Relation between Caregiving Style, Coping, Benefit Finding, Grandchild Symptoms, and Caregiver Adjustment among Custodial Grandparents. Zauszniewski, Musil, Resourcefulness in Grandmothers Raising Grandchildren. Hayslip, Jr., Davis, Goodman, Smith, Maiden, Carr, The Role of Resilience in Mediating Stressor-Outcome Relationships among Grandparents Raising their Grandchildren. Bailey, Letiecq, Erickson, Koltz, Resilient Grandparent Caregivers: Pathways to Positive Adaptation. Fruhauf, Bundy-Fazioli, Grandparent Caregivers' Self-Care Practice: Moving Toward a Strengths-Based Approach. Part II Interpersonal aspects of Resilience and Resourcefulness in Grandparent Caregivers Yancura, Greenwood, Raising Grandchildren as an Expression of Native Hawaiian Cultural Values. Kolomer, Himmelheber, Murray, Mutual Exchange within Skipped Generation Households: How Grandfamilies Support One Another. Dolbin-MacNab, Roberto, Finney, Formal Social Support: Promoting Resilience in Grandparents Parenting Grandchildren. Goodman, Scorzo, Ernandez, Alvarez-Nunez, Social and Personal Resources of Grandmother Caregivers after Grandchildren Are Grown. Part III Strength-Based Interventions with Grandparent Caregivers Conway, Consedine, Orienting to the Positive: A Practice Framework for Grandparent Caregiving. James, Ferrante, Skip Generations: A Strength-Based Mentoring Program for Resilient Grandparent Caregivers. McCallion, Ferretti, Kim, Challenges in Translating an Evidence-Based Health Self-Management Intervention for Grandparent Caregivers. Zuckerman, Maiden, Promoting Resilience: Counseling Grandparents to Raise Effective Grandchildren. Smith, Dannison, James, Resiliency and Custodial Grandparents: Recognizing and Supporting Strengths. Whitley, Kelley, Campos, Promoting Family Empowerment among African American Grandmothers Raising Grandchildren.