ABSTRACT
This article describes the results of an exploratory study of a multimodal, home-based intervention designed to reduce psychological stress, improve physical and mental health, and strengthen the social support and resources of grandparents raising grandchildren. The six-month intervention included home visits by registered nurses, social workers, and legal assistants; the services of an attorney; and monthly support group meetings. The intervention resulted in improved mental health scores, decreased psychological distress scores, and increased social support scores. Participants also experienced improvement in the level of public benefits received and in their legal relationships with their grandchildren. Implications of these findings for practice are highlighted.
Subject(s)
Aged/psychology , Intergenerational Relations , Middle Aged/psychology , Parenting/psychology , Social Support , Social Work/organization & administration , Stress, Psychological/prevention & control , Caregivers/psychology , Child , Child Welfare , Health Status , Humans , Program Evaluation , Social Isolation , Social Work/legislation & jurisprudence , Stress, Psychological/etiology , United StatesABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: The purpose of the present study was to investigate predictors of psychological distress in grandmother kinship care providers. More specifically, it was hypothesized that social support, family resources, and physical health would predict psychological distress in grandmothers raising grandchildren. METHOD: One hundred and two grandmothers raising grandchildren in parent-absent homes completed the Brief Symptom Inventory, Short Health Form-36, Family Resource Scale, Family Support Scale, and a questionnaire requesting background and demographic data. RESULTS: Results indicated that psychological distress was predicted by family resources, participants' physical health, and to a lesser extent, social support. CONCLUSION: The findings indicate that family resources, social support, and physical health affected psychological distress in grandmothers raising grandchildren. Grandmothers who reported fewer resources, less social support, and poorer physical health tended to experience higher levels of psychological distress. This study suggests that greater attention be given to interventions aimed to decrease psychological distress and improve the financial resources and physical health of grandmothers raising grandchildren.
Subject(s)
Child Rearing , Family Relations , Social Support , Stress, Psychological , Adult , Age Factors , Aged , Child , Female , Health Status , Humans , Male , Middle AgedABSTRACT
An increased incidence in child abuse and neglect has resulted in a dramatic rise in the number of grandparents raising grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Grandchildren raised by grandparents often suffer from emotional and behavioral problems due to prior abuse, neglect, and abandonment. Grandparent caregivers experience increased health problems, psychological distress, and social isolation related to their roles as primary caregivers of children. Grandparents who become caregivers of grandchildren face increased financial responsibilities at a time in their lives, close to or at retirement, when income is dramatically decreased.
Subject(s)
Child Care/organization & administration , Family , Intergenerational Relations , Aged , Caregivers/psychology , Child , Child Welfare , Family/psychology , Humans , Public Policy , Self-Help Groups , Stress, Psychological/etiology , United StatesABSTRACT
Munchausen's syndrome by proxy (MSBP) is an emotional disorder in which the parent, almost always the mother, induces or fabricates illness in her child in order to gain medical attention. Although numerous case studies exist in pediatric and medical literature, most nurses are unaware of the warning signs of this disorder. Psychiatric consultation liaison nurses are in an ideal position to identify and intervene in MSBP situations and can also support the pediatric nursing staff through feelings of denial, shock, and guilt as they recognize the syndrome and its danger to the child.
