Current literature establishes a relationship between maternal depression and offspring depression. Goodman and Gotlib’s “Developmental Model for Understanding Mechanisms of Transmission” suggests possible mechanisms including attachment. Prior research also demonstrates a link between fathers’ depression and pediatric psychopathology risk, but further research is needed to elucidate the effect of other non-parental caregivers. Children raised by both types of non-parental caregivers are vulnerable to attachment disruptions due to separation from their parental caregivers and the prevalence of children residing with these caregivers is on the rise in recent years. Using the Goodman and Gotlib framework, this study examined the relation between caregiver depressive symptoms and child depressive symptoms via attachment. Findings suggest that attachment indeed mediates the relation and further, that there were group differences in child’s attachment level between foster children and grandchildren.

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Using a grounded theory approach (Strauss & Corbin, 1990), this study produced a conceptual framework for exploring the relationships between grandmothers and the grandchildren they are raising. Twenty-one grandmothers and grandchildren were engaged in in-depth interviews. grandmothers had legal custody of the participating grandchildren for at least the last six months. Grandchildren were between the ages of 7 and 14. Data were analyzed using open coding, axial coding, and selected coding. Four of the seven grandmothers were found to have a similar pattern due in large part to their daughters having a long history of drug addiction. These four grandmothers are the focus of the model. The remaining three grandmothers have dissimilar situations, but support the model as well. The study proposed a three-phase model of the relationships. These phases included: rescuer/protector, caregiver/provider, and mother/advocate. The model described movement from each phase through contextual conditions. The mother/advocate phase became the most developed phase of the model. Eight strategies used by the grandmothers to manage the mother/advocate phase are proposed. In addition, seven intervening conditions were identified that either constrain or enhance the strategies.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--McMaster University, 2003. / Advisor: Carolyn J. Rosenthal. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 218-226). Also available via World Wide Web.

Thesis (M.S.)--Miami University, Dept. of Family Studies and Social Work, 2007. / Title from first page of PDF document. Includes bibliographical references (p. 45-49).

abstract: This study examines long-distance relationships between grandparents and their adolescent grandchild through the qualitative identification and analysis of relational turning points and trajectories. A sample of 30 grandparents yielding 99 individual turning points allowed for an in-depth understanding of these relational constructs that previous research neglects to explore from the perspective of a grandparent. A constant comparative analysis of these turning points reveals 8 distinct categories of relational turning points including Spending Time Together, Family Relational Dynamics, Geographic Distance, Lack of Relational Investment, Use of Technology, Relational Investment, Lack of Free Time, and Grandchild Gaining Independence. These turning points vary in how they positively or negatively impact relational closeness between participants and their grandchildren. The use of Retrospective Interview Technique (RIT) yields 30 individual relational trajectory graphs categorized into five trajectories including Decrease in Closeness, Increase in Closeness, Multidimensional Changes in Closeness, Minimal Changes in Closeness, and Consistent Relational Closeness. Results provide theoretical contributions to aging and family literature as well as practical findings pertaining to current and future grandparents. These implications as well as suggestions for future research are discussed. / Dissertation/Thesis / M.A. Communication Studies 2012

MPH / Department of Public Health / The phenomenon of grandparents raising their grandchildren is not new in different parts of the world. It has been noted that taking up a parental role has become the norm for grandparents, especially the grandmothers. This study aimed to explore the experiences of grandmothers in raising their grandchildren in Thohoyandou. Specifically, it aimed to establish the reasons why grandmothers in Thohoyandou are involved in raising their grandchildren, to identify and describe the challenges experienced by grandmothers in raising their grandchildren in Thohoyandou and finally, to establish the coping mechanism being used by these grandmothers to address the challenges being experienced by them. The study was conducted in Thohoyandou Block J which is situated in Thulamela municipality in Limpopo Province, South Africa. A qualitative method using an interpretative phenomenological approach was used. Ten grandmothers who were raising their grandchildren were selected through snowball sampling method. The researcher sought the help of a home-base care worker at Muledane clinic to have access to the first grandmother after which the remaining grandmothers were referred by the known participant. Individual in-depth interviews were used to get information from them, using an interview guide. Each grandmother signed a consent form and then gave permission for the interview to be audio-recorded. Pseudo name were used in order to protect the participants. Data were transcribed verbatim, coded into themes and sub-themes using inductive thematic analysis. Themes that emerged include, changes in grandmothers’ role, feeling towards the role change, socio-economic factors that affect care-giving grandmothers, health of grandmothers, strategies for better living. Findings revealed that different reasons exist which made grandmothers to take up the responsibility of raising their grandchildren, grandmothers are affected negatively in their caregiving role and their main source of income are the child-support and pension grant (for those that are eligible).

A contemporaneidade tem como uma de suas principais marcas o excesso de individualismo ou narcisismo. Além disso, traz consigo uma série de transformações nos níveis subjetivo, intersubjetivo, familiar e social, dentre os quais destacamos aqueles sentidos na esfera familiar. O atual avanço tecnocientífico é apontado como um fator de peso nessas transformações, desde o surgimento da televisão até o das mais recentes tecnologias da informação e da comunicação (TICs). Apesar de haver divergências na literatura, frequentemente a população idosa é apontada como prejudicada por esse avanço tecnológico e considerada excluída digital. Ao mesmo tempo, vivenciamos um aumento dessa população e da expectativa de vida, o que levou também a mudanças na função dos avós na família, numa diversidade de possibilidades. Diferentemente da psicanálise tradicional, que teve como foco as dinâmicas envolvidas entre pais e filhos, a psicanálise vincular, referencial aqui elegido, enfatiza aquelas implicadas na dimensão do entre, o que significa uma compreensão sobre a família mais ampla. Investigar se e como a TIC poderia estar influindo sobre o vínculo avós-netos na atualidade, partindo do pressuposto da transmissão psíquica geracional, foi o objetivo desta pesquisa. Para tanto, foi adotado o método clínico-qualitativo e realizadas entrevistas semidirigidas com quatro duplas de avós idosos e netos adolescentes que apresentassem algum contato virtual entre si, totalizando oito participantes; a forma de análise dos dados seguiu o método de estudo de caso. Os resultados encontrados mostraram que cada dupla fazia um determinado uso da TIC entre si, ainda que tenha havido aspectos em comum entre todas ou algumas delas. A inversão geracional e certa desconfiança na comunicação virtual foram duas constantes; bem como a constatação de que o uso que era feito da tecnologia se relacionava com determinadas características da dinâmica de funcionamento psíquico dos sujeitos, do vínculo entre eles ou mesmo da família. Em três duplas observou-se a geração de um efeito paradoxal causado pela interferência da tecnologia, qual seja, o fato de ela propiciar a aproximação entre as partes quando estavam distantes, mas seu afastamento quando estavam juntas, devido ao uso excessivo dela feito pelos netos, que então passavam a dispensar menos atenção aos respectivos avós. Nas duplas entrevistadas, a presença da tecnologia não pareceu comprometer o papel dos avós, uma vez que eles tinham uma posição bastante importante para os seus netos. Para alguns destes últimos, o papel dos avós ainda era visto relativamente a um lugar de saber e de superioridade. Em suma, pôde-se perceber que, em algumas situações, a TIC facilitava o vínculo das duplas e em outras o subtraía, e em outras ainda ela não passava de um mero complemento. Mesmo assim, observou-se que sua influência não tinha mais poder do que o vínculo em si mesmo, este, sim, fator suficiente e determinante para ditar a qualidade da relação da dupla, pelo menos no que se referiu a avós e netos / Contemporaneity has as one of its main brands the excess of individualism or narcissism. In addition, it brought several transformations on the subjective, intersubjective, family and social levels, among which we highlight those taking place in the family sphere. The current techno-scientific progress is key in these transformations, from the beginning of television to the recent information and communication technologies (ICTs). Although literature may differ, often the elderly population is seen as precluded by this technological advance and considered digitally excluded. On the same token, we experienced an increase in this population and a rise in life expectancy, leading to changes in the role of grandparents in the family, in a diversity of possibilities. Unlike traditional psychoanalysis, which focused on the dynamics between parents and children, the links psychoanalysis, referential chosen for this work, emphasizes the dynamics involved in the \"between\" dimension, implying a broader understanding about the family. The objective of this research was to investigate whether and how ICT could be influencing the link between grandparents and grandchildren in the current generation, based on the theory of the generational psychic transmission. For this purpose, the clinical-qualitative method was applied and semi-structured interviews were done with eight participants, consisting of four pairs of elderly grandparents and their adolescent grandchildren, both having virtual contact between them; the form of data analysis followed the case study method. The results showed that each pair made a particular use of ICT among themselves, although there have been aspects in common among all or some of them. The inversion of generations and a lack of trust in virtual communication were two constants, as well as the finding that the use of technology was related to certain characteristics of the subjects\' psychic dynamics, the relation between themselves or even the family. In three of the pairs a \"paradoxical effect\" was observed, being caused by the interference of technology, as it would bring the parties closer when they were distant, but set them apart when they were together, due to the excessive use of it by the grandchildren, who then paid less attention to their grandparents. For the interviewed pairs, the presence of technology did not seem to jeopardize the role of grandparents, since they held a very important position for their grandchildren. For some of the latter, the role of the grandparents was still seen as one of knowledge and superiority. In short, it was possible to perceive that in some situations ICT facilitated the bonding process between the pairs, while for others it would prejudice it, and even for some it was only a mere complement. Even so, it was noted that their influence had no more power than the bond in itself, factor sufficient and determinant to dictate the quality of the relationship between the pairs, at least when it comes to grandparents and grandchildren

In Vietnam, the number of grandparents who become full -time surrogate parents to their grandchildren has significantly increased. When parenting is left to grandparents, they play the same role as biological parents. They significantly affect the educational functioning, developmental outcomes, and well-being of their grandchildren. Using data from in-depth interviews with 16 participants who are raising their grandchildren, the current study provides insight into children’s education in the grandparents-headed households in Vietnam. The more grandparents are involved in their grandchildren’s educational process, the more likely their grandchildren are to achieve academic success. I have found that there is a strong relationship between grandparents’ age, as well as their perspectives/values on education, and how they engage in children’s academic performance. My study highlights the importance of transmitting cultural and social capital which children primarily absorb in family settings. Sociocultural theory has maintained that custodial grandparents’ cultural and social resources, which they transmit to their grandchildren, significantly affect their educational progress. In Vietnamese grandfamilies, grandparents are not a primary learning resource for their custodial grandchildren. However, they can provide external resources such as the relationship with homeroom teachers and kinship as social capital. The present qualitative study should be seen as laying the groundwork for future research. Social capital theory is recommended as the theoretical framework for future research.

Children raised by their grandparents are a steadily growing demographic in schools throughout the United States. When parents are unable to care for their children, grandparents sometimes assume the role of primary caregiver. This is especially true when they are faced with the threat of placing their grandchildren in the foster care system. More often than not, these grandparents are not adequately prepared for the challenges of raising children who have lost their parent through death, drug abuse or incarceration and few resources exist to guide elementary school principals to engage this demographic. Regardless of the growing numbers of caregiving grandparents there exists a dearth of research and literature to guide school leaders in effectively engaging these grandparents in school involvement. The purpose of this study was to understand principals’ experiences with grandparents raising grandchildren (GRG), to discover grandparent’s experiences and perspectives on their own experiences in their grandchildren’s schools, and finally, construct theory on how elementary principals create and nurture positive and productive relationships with grandparents raising grandchildren. Analysis of date contributed to the development of propositions that reflect study findings. These propositions contributed to the development of a framework toward theory: Although principals were cognizant of the challenges GRG face, this knowledge did not influence their leadership. As a result, their leadership practices created school environments in which GRGs were effectively engaged in two-way communication but limited decision-making. Furthermore, the schools did not provide a bridge to resources to meet many of the challenges GRG and their families faced.