Master of Science / Department of Family Studies and Human Services / Melinda Markham / The number of grandparents who are taking over the responsibility of raising their grandchildren is increasing over time. Despite society’s reliance on them, society is failing to meet the needs of these families. Grandparents consistently lack the necessary resources that could reduce and minimize their stress in what is usually an unexpected family situation. Family Life Education has failed to meet the needs of grandfamilies. Using Family Stress Theory as a theoretical framework, this study asked the question How can Family Life Education be used as a resource for grandparents raising grandchildren to avoid crisis? Focus groups and individual interviews were used to gather qualitative data from grandparents who are currently raising their grandchildren near a midwestern university. Findings suggest grandparents raising grandchildren could benefit from education regarding finding resources and answers to questions as they navigate the many systems they are involved with, communicating and guiding their grandchildren, balancing and maintaining the shifting family dynamics and changing family relationships, information regarding the growth and development of children across the lifespan, and education regarding content that is unique to their family situation. However there are multiple barriers that participants identified toward the utilization of FLE. Ultimately, there is a lack of collaboration among services for grandparents raising grandchildren and they lack support that could potentially come from support groups. Impact and implications for practice, research and policy were discussed. Strengths and limitations of the study were also presented.

Master of Science / Department of Family Studies Human Services / Rick J. Scheidt / Currently in the United States there are 2.7 million grandparent caregivers caring for 5.4 million grandchildren, with 883,386 of these grandparents caring for their grandchildren without any assistance from the child’s biological parent. These grandparents have unique needs and require support services that understand and recognize those needs. However, many of the resources currently available are not designed to assist this population. This report explores many of the issues grandparents face when taking over as the primary caregiver for their grandchild. Specifically this report highlights the financial, legal, and medical issues, as well as the need for respite care and housing. These particular issues were selected because they are commonly cited as difficult areas to navigate for grandparent caregivers, and also because there are crucial resources in each of these areas that allow grandparents to successfully raise their grandchild. Without these tools, the process of raising the grandchild can prove extremely difficult for grandparents, which can have negative consequences on the grandchildren. In addition it offers suggestions for grandparents seeking assistance regarding these issues, also providing several resources. This report also offers guidance for grandparent caregiver advocates and encourages future research and scholarship to explore programs assisting this population.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-29T14:17:37Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Fatima Cristina Costa Fontes.pdf: 2535782 bytes, checksum: 0537b9bcb4fe9d7bb5783c0edada11a4 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2008-11-05 / The following thesis presents a qualitative research developed with the general aim of studying the intergenerational relationships in families that have criminal involvement. This study investigates the relationship between grandparents and their adolescent grandchildren who are authors of criminal acts as an area of intergenerational companionship and possible socio-affective reference to amend the trajectories of their delinquent grandchildren. This work began with the hypothesis that the networks of family solidarity forged between grandparents and their criminally-involved adolescent grandchildren, if strengthened, will serve as one of the socio-affective references for these grandchildren and will create a possibility of transformation in their criminal trajectories. After considering what was perceived of the socio-affective reality of these grandparents and their grandchildren and the process of interrelational changes tested in the families of the research, the following aspects of the observed dynamics were considered: the quality of subject-researcher relationship, the amplification of love within family relationships, and the importance of the religious experience as a factor in family resilience. The theoretical reference of the study was built upon the sum of the production of four theoretical lines: the Complex Thought of Edgar Morin; the notion of affection of Espinosa; studies on the Biology of Love, Humberto Maturana; and studies of Generation and Family Memory from French sociological thought. Two grandparents and two adolescent grandchildren volunteered for the study. The adolescents were perpetrators of criminal acts that were in compliance with the measure of socio-educational Assisted Freedom, and were participating in the Program of Assisted Freedom of the Associação Educacional e Beneficente Vale da Bênção, in Vila Nova Cachoeirinha, São Paulo. As a methodological procedure, four visits with simultaneous interviews were made, as well as the drafting of Genosociograms of the two families surveyed. It was concluded from the results of the analysis that the strengthening of the relationships between grandparents and grandchildren served as a socio-affective reference for transformation in the path of life of both the grandchildren and the grandparents. This result helped build a group of ideas for assisting families in criminal contexts since it enabled the scaling of the importance of loving affection in family changes / Apresenta-se, neste texto de tese, uma pesquisa qualitativa, desenvolvida com o objetivo geral de se estudar as relações intergeracionais nas famílias em contexto infracional. Tal estudo se propôs a investigar as interrelações entre avós e seus netos adolescentes autores de ato infracional, como espaço de convivência intergeracional e de possível referência sócio-afetiva de alteração das trajetórias infracionais dos netos. Este trabalho partiu da hipótese que as redes de solidariedade familiar tecidas entre avós e seus netos adolescentes autores de ato infracional, se fortalecidas entre si, servirão como uma das referências sócio-afetivas desses netos e como possibilidade de transformação da suas trajetórias infracionais. Face ao que foi percebido sobre a realidade sócio-afetiva destes avós e seus netos e ao processo de mudanças interrelacionais experimentados nas famílias da pesquisa, foram analisadas os seguintes aspectos da dinâmica observada: a qualidade da interrelação pesquisados - pesquisador; a amplificação do amar nas relações familiares e a importância da experiência religiosa como fator de resiliência familiar. O referencial teórico utilizado na pesquisa somou a produção de quatro vertentes teóricas: o pensamento Complexo de Edgar Morin; a noção de afeto em Espinosa; os estudos sobre a Biologia do Amar de Humberto Maturana e os estudos de Geração e Memória familiar do pensamento sociológico francês. Participaram da pesquisa, voluntariamente, duas avós e dois netos adolescentes autores de ato infracional que cumpriam a medida sócio-educativa da Liberdade Assistida, e que participavam do programa da Liberdade Assistida da Associação Educacional e Beneficente Vale da Bênção, em Vila Nova Cachoeirinha, São Paulo. Como procedimentos metodológicos foram realizados quatro Visitas Domiciliares com realização simultânea de entrevistas e a elaboração do Genossociograma das duas famílias pesquisadas. Concluiu-se, através da análise feita a partir dos resultados obtidos, que o fortalecimento da trama relacional entre avós e netos, serviu como referência sócio-afetiva de transformação na trajetória de vida dos netos e de suas avós. Tal resultado contribui para o quadro de propostas de atendimento às famílias em contexto infracional, uma vez que possibilitou o dimensionamento da importância do afeto amoroso nas transformações familiares

In the United States, a growing number of young people are failing to launch into self-sufficiency, a characteristic of adulthood recognized by most cultural groups. These "boomerang children" return home and interrupt the life course development of their "empty nest" mothers who must suspend plans for self-development. How mothers from different socioeconomic backgrounds cope with this countertransitional phenomenon while preparing their children for successful relaunch is not well known. Elder's life course paradigm provided the theoretical framework for this phenomenological study. Perceptions were collected from an ethnically diverse group of 23 empty nest mothers with 30 boomerang children and seven boomerang grandchildren from five U.S. states, recruited using criterion-based convenience sample. Data were collected through recorded telephone interviews that were transcribed verbatim, and analyzed using Saldana's codes-categories-emergent themes model. The findings revealed that boomerang children caused emotional and financial distress, a reassessment of parenting skills, and that boomerang grandchildren reinvigorated the mother's prime identity as a caregiver. These findings were consistent regardless of ethnicity or socioeconomic status. This study contributes to the empirical literature by depicting the boomerang phenomenon as a shift in cultural expectations which represents a new phase in the life course development paradigm. Findings from this study can also guide the work of future researchers, assist mental health counselors who deal with these issues, and inform school guidance counselors who design career trajectories for students.

In many Western societies grandparents take on the role of occasional or short-term care providers of their grandchildren. However, recent years have witnessed a significant increase, both in Australia and overseas, in the number of children being raised by their grandparents due to the inability of the children’s parents to effectively meet their parenting responsibilities.This study is an interpretive inquiry that seeks to understand the meanings grandparents attach to their experiences of the grandparent-as-parent role, rather than the traditional grandparent role. The study also investigates how assuming the non-traditional grandparent role has influenced the identity of grandparent caregivers. A narrative inquiry approach was employed to ‘hear the voices’ of 34 grandparents who were raising their grandchildren in NSW, Australia. In-depth interviews were conducted with each of the participants and their narratives were subsequently analysed through the lens of identity theory.Findings from the study reveal that grandparents experience a significant degree of roleidentity conflict in their grandparent-as-parent role. The loss of their traditional grandparent role, together with the shift in commitment to the grandparent-as-parent role, has resulted in a ‘space of difference’ between the ‘ideal’ and the ‘real’ of being a grandparent. This ‘space of difference’ is made up of a series of binary experiences described as myth/reality, visible/invisible, deserving/undeserving, voice/silenced, included/excluded, which appear to have consequentially impacted grandparents’ selfesteem and self-verification processes. The study posits that grandparents lack adequate support, or doulia, resulting in a prevailing belief that their commitment to the grandparentas- parent role is not publicly acknowledged nor afforded the justice it deserves.The study concludes that both policy and practice in NSW have failed to recognise and address the complexity of experience, or the ‘space of difference’ occupied by grandparents who are raising their grandchildren, and provides a number of recommendations in response to the grandparent experiences narrated through this research.

In the United States, a growing number of young people are failing to launch into self-sufficiency, a characteristic of adulthood recognized by most cultural groups. These â??boomerang childrenâ?? return home and interrupt the life course development of their â??empty nestâ?? mothers who must suspend plans for self-development. How mothers from different socioeconomic backgrounds cope with this countertransitional phenomenon while preparing their children for successful relaunch is not well known. Elder's life course paradigm provided the theoretical framework for this phenomenological study. Perceptions were collected from an ethnically diverse group of 23 empty nest mothers with 30 boomerang children and seven boomerang grandchildren from five U.S. states, recruited using criterion-based convenience sample. Data were collected through recorded telephone interviews that were transcribed verbatim, and analyzed using Saldana's codes-categories-emergent themes model. The findings revealed that boomerang children caused emotional and financial distress, a reassessment of parenting skills, and that boomerang grandchildren reinvigorated the mother's prime identity as a caregiver. These findings were consistent regardless of ethnicity or socioeconomic status. This study contributes to the empirical literature by depicting the boomerang phenomenon as a shift in cultural expectations which represents a new phase in the life course development paradigm. Findings from this study can also guide the work of future researchers, assist mental health counselors who deal with these issues, and inform school guidance counselors who design career trajectories for students.

In many Western societies grandparents take on the role of occasional or short-term care providers of their grandchildren. However, recent years have witnessed a significant increase, both in Australia and overseas, in the number of children being raised by their grandparents due to the inability of the children’s parents to effectively meet their parenting responsibilities.This study is an interpretive inquiry that seeks to understand the meanings grandparents attach to their experiences of the grandparent-as-parent role, rather than the traditional grandparent role. The study also investigates how assuming the non-traditional grandparent role has influenced the identity of grandparent caregivers. A narrative inquiry approach was employed to ‘hear the voices’ of 34 grandparents who were raising their grandchildren in NSW, Australia. In-depth interviews were conducted with each of the participants and their narratives were subsequently analysed through the lens of identity theory.Findings from the study reveal that grandparents experience a significant degree of roleidentity conflict in their grandparent-as-parent role. The loss of their traditional grandparent role, together with the shift in commitment to the grandparent-as-parent role, has resulted in a ‘space of difference’ between the ‘ideal’ and the ‘real’ of being a grandparent. This ‘space of difference’ is made up of a series of binary experiences described as myth/reality, visible/invisible, deserving/undeserving, voice/silenced, included/excluded, which appear to have consequentially impacted grandparents’ selfesteem and self-verification processes. The study posits that grandparents lack adequate support, or doulia, resulting in a prevailing belief that their commitment to the grandparentas- parent role is not publicly acknowledged nor afforded the justice it deserves.The study concludes that both policy and practice in NSW have failed to recognise and address the complexity of experience, or the ‘space of difference’ occupied by grandparents who are raising their grandchildren, and provides a number of recommendations in response to the grandparent experiences narrated through this research.

In many Western societies grandparents take on the role of occasional or short-term care providers of their grandchildren. However, recent years have witnessed a significant increase, both in Australia and overseas, in the number of children being raised by their grandparents due to the inability of the children’s parents to effectively meet their parenting responsibilities.This study is an interpretive inquiry that seeks to understand the meanings grandparents attach to their experiences of the grandparent-as-parent role, rather than the traditional grandparent role. The study also investigates how assuming the non-traditional grandparent role has influenced the identity of grandparent caregivers. A narrative inquiry approach was employed to ‘hear the voices’ of 34 grandparents who were raising their grandchildren in NSW, Australia. In-depth interviews were conducted with each of the participants and their narratives were subsequently analysed through the lens of identity theory.Findings from the study reveal that grandparents experience a significant degree of roleidentity conflict in their grandparent-as-parent role. The loss of their traditional grandparent role, together with the shift in commitment to the grandparent-as-parent role, has resulted in a ‘space of difference’ between the ‘ideal’ and the ‘real’ of being a grandparent. This ‘space of difference’ is made up of a series of binary experiences described as myth/reality, visible/invisible, deserving/undeserving, voice/silenced, included/excluded, which appear to have consequentially impacted grandparents’ selfesteem and self-verification processes. The study posits that grandparents lack adequate support, or doulia, resulting in a prevailing belief that their commitment to the grandparentas- parent role is not publicly acknowledged nor afforded the justice it deserves.The study concludes that both policy and practice in NSW have failed to recognise and address the complexity of experience, or the ‘space of difference’ occupied by grandparents who are raising their grandchildren, and provides a number of recommendations in response to the grandparent experiences narrated through this research.

Cette recherche traite des relations intergénérationnelles entre grands-parents et petitsenfants du point de vue des enfants. Afin de mieux comprendre ces relations, six rencontres ont été réalisées auprès de 36 garçons et filles, âgés de sept à dix ans, pendant leur période scolaire. Les enfants appartiennent à la classe moyenne de la ville de Porto Alegre (RS) et font partie de quatre groupes familiaux diversifiés : ils vivent dans des familles biparentales, monoparentales, reconstituées ou tri-générationnelles, ce qui a permis d’observer ces relations selon différents points de vue. Dans cette recherche, les enfants parlent de leur mode de vie dans ces différents contextes familiaux et de la manière dont s’établit le contact avec leurs grands-parents. Au travers de leurs biographies, nous pouvons observer l’interférence des divorces et des remariages dans les relations intergénérationnelles, l’importance du chaînon établi par la génération intermédiaire et la forte propension au contact avec la lignée maternelle. Dans leur expérience de petits-enfants, ces garçons et ces filles racontent des moments d’attention, de découvertes, d’aventures et de jeu, dans lesquels la maison des grands-parents apparaît dans toute son importance et sa singularité. Il s’agit d’un important lieu de passage dans l’univers des enfants et ceux-ci nous montrent, à travers leurs connaissances, que la relation avec les grands-parents contribue à la propre constitution du je de l’enfant. Le contact intergénérationnel apparaît comme un processus interactif et co-éducatif où tant les plus âgés que les plus jeunes ont la chance d’apprendre et d’enseigner. Pour les enfants, les liens qui les unissent peuvent être tellement forts que même la finitude des grands-parents n’est pas capable de briser ces liens. / Esta pesquisa trata das relações intergeracionais entre avós e netos a partir da perspectiva das crianças. Com o objetivo de conhecer melhor essas relações, 36 meninos e meninas, com idades entre sete e dez anos, foram entrevistados ao longo de seis encontros ocorridos durante o período escolar. As crianças, pertencentes à classe média e média alta da cidade de Porto Alegre (RS), fazem parte de quatro grupos familiares diversificados: vivem em famílias nucleares, monoparentais, reconstituídas e conviventes com avós, o que possibilitou olhar para essas relações a partir de diferentes lugares. Nesta pesquisa, as crianças falam sobre o modo como elas vivem nessas diferentes famílias e sobre como o contato com os avós se estabelece dentro desses diferentes contextos. Em suas biografias, podemos observar o atravessamento do divórcio e dos recasamentos nas relações intergeracionais, a importância dos elos estabelecidos pela geração do meio e uma forte inclinação ao contato com a linha materna. Na experiência de ser neto, meninos e meninas narram momentos de cuidado, de descobertas, de aventura e de brincadeira, nos quais a casa dos avós aparece com toda a sua relevância e singularidade. Esse é um importante espaço de trânsito do universo das crianças, e elas nos mostram, por meio de seus saberes, que o convívio com os avós contribui para a própria constituição do eu infantil. O contato intergeracional surge como um processo interativo e co-educativo, onde tanto os mais velhos, quanto os mais novos, têm a chance de aprender e ensinar. Para as crianças, os vínculos que os unem podem ser tão fortes que nem a finitude dos avós é capaz de desfazer esses laços. / This thesis examines intergenerational relationships between grandparents and grandchildren from the child’s point of view. In an effort to understand these relationships better, 36 boys and girls aged between seven and ten years were interviewed in the course of six meetings, which took place during school hours. The children interviewed came from middle and upper middle class families in the city of Porto Alegre (in the Brazilian State of Rio Grande do Sul) and belong to four different family types: nuclear, single parent, reconstituted and three-generation. This enabled intergenerational relationships to be studied in different circumstances. In this thesis, children talk about how they live in their families and about how contact with grandparents is established within the family structures under analysis. The children’s biographies show the effect of divorce and remarriage on intergenerational relationships, the importance of ties established by the middle generation and a strong propensity to establish and maintain contact with the maternal family line. In their experience as grandchildren, boys and girls report moments of care, discovery, adventure and play, and their grandparents’ home appears in its full relevance and uniqueness. This is an important place in the child’s world, and the children show, through their knowledge, that living with grandparents contributes to the constitution of the childhood self. Intergenerational contact is revealed to be an interactive and co-educational process, which provides old and young alike with opportunities to learn and teach. Children’s ties to their grandparents may be so strong that not even the latter’s death can break them.

Cette recherche traite des relations intergénérationnelles entre grands-parents et petitsenfants du point de vue des enfants. Afin de mieux comprendre ces relations, six rencontres ont été réalisées auprès de 36 garçons et filles, âgés de sept à dix ans, pendant leur période scolaire. Les enfants appartiennent à la classe moyenne de la ville de Porto Alegre (RS) et font partie de quatre groupes familiaux diversifiés : ils vivent dans des familles biparentales, monoparentales, reconstituées ou tri-générationnelles, ce qui a permis d’observer ces relations selon différents points de vue. Dans cette recherche, les enfants parlent de leur mode de vie dans ces différents contextes familiaux et de la manière dont s’établit le contact avec leurs grands-parents. Au travers de leurs biographies, nous pouvons observer l’interférence des divorces et des remariages dans les relations intergénérationnelles, l’importance du chaînon établi par la génération intermédiaire et la forte propension au contact avec la lignée maternelle. Dans leur expérience de petits-enfants, ces garçons et ces filles racontent des moments d’attention, de découvertes, d’aventures et de jeu, dans lesquels la maison des grands-parents apparaît dans toute son importance et sa singularité. Il s’agit d’un important lieu de passage dans l’univers des enfants et ceux-ci nous montrent, à travers leurs connaissances, que la relation avec les grands-parents contribue à la propre constitution du je de l’enfant. Le contact intergénérationnel apparaît comme un processus interactif et co-éducatif où tant les plus âgés que les plus jeunes ont la chance d’apprendre et d’enseigner. Pour les enfants, les liens qui les unissent peuvent être tellement forts que même la finitude des grands-parents n’est pas capable de briser ces liens. / Esta pesquisa trata das relações intergeracionais entre avós e netos a partir da perspectiva das crianças. Com o objetivo de conhecer melhor essas relações, 36 meninos e meninas, com idades entre sete e dez anos, foram entrevistados ao longo de seis encontros ocorridos durante o período escolar. As crianças, pertencentes à classe média e média alta da cidade de Porto Alegre (RS), fazem parte de quatro grupos familiares diversificados: vivem em famílias nucleares, monoparentais, reconstituídas e conviventes com avós, o que possibilitou olhar para essas relações a partir de diferentes lugares. Nesta pesquisa, as crianças falam sobre o modo como elas vivem nessas diferentes famílias e sobre como o contato com os avós se estabelece dentro desses diferentes contextos. Em suas biografias, podemos observar o atravessamento do divórcio e dos recasamentos nas relações intergeracionais, a importância dos elos estabelecidos pela geração do meio e uma forte inclinação ao contato com a linha materna. Na experiência de ser neto, meninos e meninas narram momentos de cuidado, de descobertas, de aventura e de brincadeira, nos quais a casa dos avós aparece com toda a sua relevância e singularidade. Esse é um importante espaço de trânsito do universo das crianças, e elas nos mostram, por meio de seus saberes, que o convívio com os avós contribui para a própria constituição do eu infantil. O contato intergeracional surge como um processo interativo e co-educativo, onde tanto os mais velhos, quanto os mais novos, têm a chance de aprender e ensinar. Para as crianças, os vínculos que os unem podem ser tão fortes que nem a finitude dos avós é capaz de desfazer esses laços. / This thesis examines intergenerational relationships between grandparents and grandchildren from the child’s point of view. In an effort to understand these relationships better, 36 boys and girls aged between seven and ten years were interviewed in the course of six meetings, which took place during school hours. The children interviewed came from middle and upper middle class families in the city of Porto Alegre (in the Brazilian State of Rio Grande do Sul) and belong to four different family types: nuclear, single parent, reconstituted and three-generation. This enabled intergenerational relationships to be studied in different circumstances. In this thesis, children talk about how they live in their families and about how contact with grandparents is established within the family structures under analysis. The children’s biographies show the effect of divorce and remarriage on intergenerational relationships, the importance of ties established by the middle generation and a strong propensity to establish and maintain contact with the maternal family line. In their experience as grandchildren, boys and girls report moments of care, discovery, adventure and play, and their grandparents’ home appears in its full relevance and uniqueness. This is an important place in the child’s world, and the children show, through their knowledge, that living with grandparents contributes to the constitution of the childhood self. Intergenerational contact is revealed to be an interactive and co-educational process, which provides old and young alike with opportunities to learn and teach. Children’s ties to their grandparents may be so strong that not even the latter’s death can break them.