Grandmothers Offering Regular Auxiliary Care for Their Grandchildren: An Expression of Generativity in Later Life?

The study explores the meaning that grandmothers who offer regular childcare attach to that experience and the extent to which the notion of generativity might explain the meaning of the experience of caring for a grandchild. Twenty-four Spanish grandmothers aged 60 and over who provided at least 12 hours a week of childcare were interviewed. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and qualitatively analyzed. The results suggest that grandmothers regard their childcare input as being part of their parental duty of helping in times of need. A range of consequences of caregiving were mentioned, generally positive and satisfactory. Our participants apparently began their caregiving task as an expression of parental generativity, although rewards associated with childcare are linked to grandparental generativity.     

The Grandmother Role as Experienced by Lesbian Women

ABSTRACT

This study explores the grandmother role as experienced by a nonrandom sample of nine lesbian women. It examines how they define the grandmother role, and the behaviors and actions through which they enact the role. During individual interviews each woman was asked to talk about what makes a woman a good grandmother, memories of her own grandmothers, and the relationship she has with one or more of her grandchildren. The effect of her sexual orientation on the relationship was not explored. These women define the grandmother role as providing emotional support to their grandchildren, providing varied experiences for their grandchildren, and providing support for the parents of their grandchildren.     

Good mothers never wane: mothering at menopause

Due to recent feminist scholarship, we know a considerable amount about women's mothering identities and activities, as well as the impact of mothering ideology on individual women. Nonetheless there are gaps in our knowledge about motherhood. For instance, we know mostly about experiences of mothers with young children, and an implicit assumption is that mothers are also fairly young themselves. Yet, what about mothers at midlife and beyond? What about menopausal mothers? This paper represents an initial attempt to explore motherhood experiences of middle-aged menopausal women. Findings presented in this article are based on 45 in-depth interviews with middle-class, heterosexual menopausal women in a midwestern state in 2001. Findings suggest that motherwork and the maintenance of "good" mothering ideology are still primary activities of women at menopause despite assumptions that menopausal women have completed mothering experiences and are now grandmothers (if caregivers at all). In analyzing menopausal mothers, I encourage broader explorations of women's experiences of both motherhood and menopause.     

Good Mothers Never Wane: Mothering at Menopause

ABSTRACT

Due to recent feminist scholarship, we know a considerable amount about women's mothering identities and activities, as well as the impact of mothering ideology on individual women. Nonetheless there are gaps in our knowledge about motherhood. For instance, we know mostly about experiences of mothers with young children, and an implicit assumption is that mothers are also fairly young themselves. Yet, what about mothers at midlife and beyond? What about menopausal mothers? This paper represents an initial attempt to explore motherhood experiences of middle-aged menopausal women. Findings presented in this article are based on 45 in-depth interviews with middle-class, heterosexual menopausal women in a midwestern state in 2001. Findings suggest that motherwork and the maintenance of “good” mothering ideology are still primary activities of women at menopause despite assumptions that menopausal women have completed mothering experiences and are now grandmothers (if caregivers at all). In analyzing menopausal mothers, I encourage broader explorations of women's experiences of both motherhood and menopause.     

Emotional Strain in Caregiving Among African American Grandmothers Raising Their Grandchildren

African Americans are disproportionately represented in the number of grandparents raising their grandchildren. Using Role Strain Theory and Socioemotional Selectivity Theory, this study examines how older grandmothers fare relative to their younger counterparts. Eighty-five custodial African American grandmothers, aged 33–88 years old, completed demographic questionnaires and scales of Role Demand, Emotional Strain, Caregiving Strain Index, and Level of Care. Results showed older grandmothers experienced less emotional and caregiving strain relative to younger grandmothers. Furthermore, married grandmothers experienced less caregiving strain, and their age did not insulate them from the strain associated with the level of care. Implications are discussed.     

Influence of grandmothers on breastfeeding practices in a rural community in Papua New Guinea: A critical discourse analysis of first-time mothers’ perspectives

BackgroundAlmost all babies are breastfed in Papua New Guinea (PNG); yet appropriate breastfeeding practices are not always followed.AimTo explore the perspectives of first-time mothers in rural PNG on how the language and discourse of grandmothers about infant feeding influence their breastfeeding practices.MethodsA critical discourse analysis (CDA) approach was used to theoretically frame the analysis of twenty first-time mothers’ narratives.FindingsAnalysis revealed three themes: (i) prescribed knowledge repository, (ii) social control and dominance, and (iii) disapproval and role conflict, which provides an understanding of grandmothers’ differing views and positions on infant feeding practices and their influence on breastfeeding.ConclusionThis study shows that grandmothers remain influential in infant feeding practices in rural PNG. There appears to be a societal expectation that empowers grandmothers in the maternal decision-making processes regarding breastfeeding practice. Grandmothers’ influence includes the early introduction of complementary foods to infants less than six months old. Interventions aimed at promoting, protecting, and supporting breastfeeding need to include grandmothers.     

Women in the middle: generational position and grandmothers' adjustment to raising grandchildren

This study compared the adjustment of two groups of grandmothers who were providing primary care for grandchildren in split-generation households: 25 grandmothers in the oldest generation of their families (G1), and 22 grandmothers who had living parents or in-laws (G2). It was hypothesized that because of potential demands on them as middle-generation women, G2 grandmothers would report greater burden and depression in their caregiving roles than G1 grandmothers. After controlling for numerous factors that are associated with generational position, the hypothesis was confirmed. In addition to being in the middle generation, having grandchildren with problems predicted elevated depression and burden. Grandmothers who were educated beyond high school also reported greater role burden.     

Why are teenagers in the United States less likely to breast-feed than older women?

Teenage mothers are much less likely than older mothers to breastfeed their infants. The lower breastfeeding rate among teenagers aged 16-19, compared with women aged 20-29, is due almost entirely to the fact that teenage mothers tend to have characteristics associated with a lower likelihood of breastfeeding among all women, such as lower educational level, lower income, and being unmarried. Even so, nearly 40% of the difference between teenage mothers aged 15 or less and mothers aged 20-29 remains unexplained by these factors and may be due to developmental aspects of adolescence, such as greater egocentricity and greater concern about body image.     

Males’ Later-Life Mortality Consequences of Coresidence With Paternal Grandparents: Evidence From Northeast China, 1789–1909

In this study, we investigate the effect of early-life coresidence with paternal grandparents on male mortality risks in adulthood and older age in northeast China from 1789 to 1909. Despite growing interest in the influence of grandparents on child outcomes, few studies have examined the effect of coresidence with grandparents in early life on mortality in later life. We find that coresidence with paternal grandmothers in childhood is associated with higher mortality risks for males in adulthood. This may reflect the long-term effects of conflicts between mothers and their mothers-in-law. These results suggest that in extended families, patterns of coresidence in childhood may have long-term consequences for mortality, above and beyond the effects of common environmental and genetic factors, even when effects on childhood mortality are not readily apparent.     

The effects of teenage childbearing on the short- and long-term health behaviors of mothers

A national sample of US teenagers combined with a complementary sample of US adults are used to examine the effects of teenage childbearing on health behaviors by comparing female siblings in both the teenage sample and a sample of adults. Additionally, miscarriage information available in the teenage sample is used to form comparison groups. Unlike previous estimates of the effects of teenage childbearing on health behaviors, the results using these US samples and research designs suggest that teenage childbearing has negligible effects on several measures of unhealthy behaviors for mothers and may be protective for drug use and binge drinking.     

The effects of teenage childbearing on the short- and long-term health behaviors of mothers

A national sample of US teenagers combined with a complementary sample of US adults are used to examine the effects of teenage childbearing on health behaviors by comparing female siblings in both the teenage sample and a sample of adults. Additionally, miscarriage information available in the teenage sample is used to form comparison groups. Unlike previous estimates of the effects of teenage childbearing on health behaviors, the results using these US samples and research designs suggest that teenage childbearing has negligible effects on several measures of unhealthy behaviors for mothers and may be protective for drug use and binge drinking.     

Connecting older grandmothers raising grandchildren with community resources improves family resiliency,social support,and caregiver self-efficacy

Custodial grandparenting can be especially challenging for older grandmothers facing age specific issues. Kinship navigator programs are social service delivery programs intended to inform grandparents and other relatives raising children about available resources and services, provide information specific to their individual needs, and help families navigate service systems. Our study utilizes self-report data from one kinship navigator federal demonstration project, which used a randomized control trial, to examine demographic characteristics for grandmothers under and over 55 years of age, whether grandmother caregivers (≥55 years) improve family resilience, social support, and caregiver self-efficacy, and which interventions improved outcomes for grandmothers (≥55 years). Each participant was randomly assigned to one of four groups: Usual Care (traditional child welfare services), Standard Care (family support and case management), Peer-to-Peer Care Only, and Full Kin Tech Care (peer navigators with computer access and interdisciplinary team). Thirty-nine percent of grandmothers (55-75 years) were mostly living in poverty, predominantly Caucasian, with 36% identifying as African American/Black, with at least one to two children at home. Repeated-measures ANOVAs for each subscale showed statistically significant within- and between-group differences for Family Functioning, Social Supports, Concrete Supports, Child Development, and Nurturing and Attachment, with the exception of Usual Care, which showed a decline in protective factors consistently across subscales. Future research with kinship families could qualitatively examine the experiences for older women in navigator programs and replication of kinship navigator programs could build capacity in data collection and maintenance systems to gain better perspective about how systems of care impact families.     

Young unwed fathers of afdc children: do they provide support?

We examine the support provided by fathers of children born to disadvantaged teenage mothers. Our sample includes the fathers of 6,009 children born over a two-year period to 3,855 teenage mothers receiving AFDC in three economically depressed inner cities. These fathers provide little social and economic support to their children. Support declines as their children age from infants to toddlers and as fathers’ relationships with the mothers grow more distant. Fathers’ employment status and educational attainment positively affect the amount of economic support that they provide but do not strongly influence the amount of social support they provide.     

The private and societal economic costs of teenage childbearing: The state of the research

The most significant individual costs of teenage childbearing are associated with truncated educations and lost human capital investment. Among the most significant direct public costs are the expenditures of just three government programs: AFDC, Food Stamps, and Medicaid. An important public cost of teenage childbearing overlooked by many researchers is the cost to U.S. productivity of large numbers of undereducated and impoverished mothers in the work force, and the intergenerational transfer of this impoverishment to their children. Any restrictions on abortion will likely increase unwanted teenage fertility, and its associated costs, particularly among the disadvantaged.     

Estimating a Dynamic Model of Sex Selection in China

High ratios of males to females in China, which have historically concerned researchers (Sen 1990), have increased in the wake of China’s one-child policy, which began in 1979. Chinese policymakers are currently attempting to correct the imbalance in the sex ratio through initiatives that provide financial compensation to parents with daughters. Other scholars have advocated a relaxation of the one-child policy to allow more parents to have a son without engaging in sex selection. In this article, I present a model of fertility choice when parents have access to a sex-selection technology and face a mandated fertility limit. By exploiting variation in fines levied in China for unsanctioned births, I estimate the relative price of a son and daughter for mothers observed in China’s census data (1982–2000). I find that a couple’s first son is worth 1.42 years of income more than a first daughter, and the premium is highest among less-educated mothers and families engaged in agriculture. Simulations indicate that a subsidy of 1 year of income to families without a son would reduce the number of “missing girls” by 67% but impose an annual cost of 1.8% of Chinese gross domestic product (GDP). Alternatively, a three-child policy would reduce the number of “missing girls” by 56% but increase the fertility rate by 35%.     

New realities of the American family

The demographic, social, and economic characteristics of American families have changed dramatically over the past few decades. While the male breadwinner/female homemaker model was long traditionally typical,l contemporary families may be openly made up of single-parents, remarried couples, unmarried couples, stepfamilies, foster families, extended or multigenerational families, or 2 families within 1 household. Families are now most likely to have 3 or fewer children, a mother employed outside of the home, and a 50% chance of parental divorce before the children are grown. These trends are common not only in America, but in most industrialized nations around the world. In fact, family trends are so fluid that the US Census Bureau and workplace policy find it difficult to keep pace. This report presents and discusses social and demographic trends behind the ever-changing face of the American family. Households and types of families are further defined, as are the living arrangements of children, young adults, and the elderly. Marriage, divorce, and remarriage trends, age at marriage rates, and interracial marriage are then discussed. Next examined are declining family size, teenage parents, contraception and abortion, unwed mothers, and technological routes to parenthood. The changing roles of family members and family economic well-being are discussed in sections preceding closing comments on the outlook for the American family.     

Transnational Grannies: The Changing Family Responsibilities of Elderly African Caribbean-Born Women Resident in Britain

This paper explores the role and position of grandmothers in African-Caribbean families resident in Britain. The data used for this paper comes fromm a sample of 180 life-history interviews collected in 1995–1996 from three generations of Caribbean-origin people living in Britain and the Caribbean. Findings from this research suggest that African-Caribbean grandmothers resident in Britain have come to play a less active role within their immediate family compared to earlier historical periods. At the same time however, these grandmothers have come to take on a more a transnational emissary role for their family and kin located throughout North America and Europe. Caribbean-born grandmothers appear to be using more modern means for fulfilling certain traditional tasks like child shifting, story telling or acting as a social safety net. Using their agency African Caribbean-born grandmothers have been able to carve out new niches for themselves despite changes in family structure brought about by migration and settlement patterns in Britain.     

Family boundary ambiguity and the measurement of family structure: the significance of cohabitation

We used data from the first wave of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health to examine family boundary ambiguity in adolescent and mother reports of family structure and found that the greater the family complexity, the more likely adolescent and mother reports of family structure were discrepant. This boundary ambiguity in reporting was most pronounced for cohabiting stepfamilies. Among mothers who reported living with a cohabiting partner, only one-third of their teenage children also reported residing in a cohabiting stepfamily. Conversely, for those adolescents who reported their family structure as a cohabiting stepfamily, just two-thirds of their mothers agreed. Levels of agreement between adolescents and mothers about residing in a two-biological-parent family, single-mother family, or married stepfamily were considerably higher. Estimates of the distribution of adolescents across family structures vary according to whether adolescent, mother, or combined reports are used. Moreover, the relationship between family structure and family processes differed depending on whose reports of family structure were used, and boundary ambiguity was associated with several key family processes. Family boundary ambiguity presents an important measurement challenge for family scholars.