| Learning Objective #1: Discuss the prevalence of grandmothers raising grandchildren and the stressors impacting these multigenerational families. | |||
| Learning Objective #2: Identify the parenting styles of grandmothers raising grandchildren and potential intervention strategies applicable for multigenerational families. |
ABSTRACT
GRANDMOTHERS RAISING GRANDCHILDREN: ADOLESCENT GRANDCHILDREN’S PERCEPTION OF PARENTING STYLE AND ATTACHMENT REPRESENTATION
There is a paucity of literature addressing the parenting style of custodial grandmothers and the attachment behavior of adolescent children being raised by their grandmothers. A descriptive correlational study based Attachment Theory was designed to study the grandmother’s and adolescent grandchild’s perception of parenting style using Lamborn’s (1991) Parenting Style Questionnaire (PSQ). Attachment behavior in the adolescent was measured by utilizing the Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment (IPPA) (Armsden & Greenberg, 1987) and the Adolescent Unresolved Attachment Questionnaire (AUAQ) (West, Spreng, Rose, & Adam, 2000). Quality of interaction between the grandchild and their biological mother was measured using the Family Bonding Scale (FBS) (Liddle & Rowe, 1998). Participants for the study were recruited from a population of grandparent-headed families who were past participants in an ongoing intervention study affiliated with a large southeastern metropolitan university. Data were analyzed using hierarchical regression to predict the effect of grandmother parenting style, age of the grandchild, length of time living with the grandmother, and amount and quality of interaction with the biological mother on the adolescent’s attachment to the grandmother. The results indicated that three variables (the Warmth/Involvement and Strictness/Supervision Scales and the parenting interaction score of the PSQ) were found to be significant predictors of the grandchild’s attachment to the grandmother. Two variables explained 57.2% of the variance of the dependent variable (attachment). With the addition of parenting style interaction, 61.2% of the variance was explained (p = .029).
Findings indicate that grandchildren who are being raised by grandmothers who are warm, involved, and providing age appropriate supervision (authoritative) are more likely to be securely attached to their grandmothers. Nurses should be involved in developing support programs that provide parenting curriculum for grandparents that are raising grandchildren.
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