Grandparents caring for grandchildren denote a significant phenomenon in childrearing with increasing numbers of grandparents primarily providing care to their grandchildren due to family breakdown, teen pregnancies, substance abuse, and parental death. Grandmothers caring for grandchildren may experience both negative and positive health and social outcomes. Many studies investigate negative outcomes, but little is known about the positive outcomes for grandmothers caring for grandchildren. This study explored the role reward, particularly the positive psychological outcomes in grandmothers as a result of child caregiving reducing depression and stress, and helping with better coping strategies, health and general well-being.
This study 1) investigated differences in intra-family strain, social support (subjective support and instrumental support), resourcefulness, religiosity/spirituality, and role reward among primary caregivers, grandmother caregivers in multigenerational homes, and non-caregiver grandmothers, 2) tested mediating effects of social support (subjective support and instrumental support), resourcefulness, religiosity/spirituality on the relationship between intra-family strain and role reward, 3) explored the relationship of caregiving status and demographics (age, race, marital status, and employment) on the relationship between intra-family strain and role reward, and 4) tested the moderating effects of caregiving status and demographics (age, race, marital status, and employment) on the relationship between intra-family strain and role reward. The Resiliency Model of Family Stress, Adjustment, and Adaptation was used for analyzing relationships among these variables in 369 Ohio grandmothers comprising 3 different groups: primary grandparent caregivers, grandmothers living in a multigenerational home, and non-grandparent caregivers. Secondary analysis was conducted using data from the fourth wave of a longitudinal study. Data were collected through mailed surveys by using the modified version of the Family Inventory of Life Events, Self-Control Schedule, Duke Social Support Index, Religiosity/Spirituality Questionnaire, and Role reward Scale. Data analyses included descriptive statistics, analysis of variance, and structural equation modeling.
Results showed that there were differences of intra-family strain, subjective support, instrumental support, and role reward among grandmothers who had different caregiving status. Moreover, the results demonstrated that subjective support and instrumental support had mediating effects on the relationship between intra-family strain and role reward. Intra-family strain was found to have a largest impact among study variables on role reward. Age and employment had moderating effects on the relationship between intra-family strain and role reward. This study significantly contributed to researchers’ understanding of role reward for grandmothers caring for grandchildren, and it provided information needed to identify timing, target, and context for nursing interventions designed to support and improve role reward in caring for grandchildren.