In past researches, custodial care provided by grandparents experiencing high burden, parenting stress, and reported lower social support and life satisfaction. Both part time and full time caregivers reported that there are changes for worse in the relationship with their spouse and deterioration in health. (Bowers, B. F., & Myers, B. J., 1999) However, grandparents also reported that they had a good or excellent change in the relationship with their adult children since they began providing care for their grandchildren. Moreover, the grandparents would let someone who they accept to take this responsibilities if they would do it all over again. This is because providing such care is not only just babysitting. Most grandparents reported that there are always unable to develop further interest due to time restriction and their social lives have been limited as well. They feel isolated from their friends. They did not want to choose to be full time caregivers, however, they didn’t know how to say “NO”. (Bahr, K.S., 1994) Unlike those traditional grandparents, whose grandchildren were in the care and custody of their parents, custodial grandparents found that the most difficult about being a grandparent: ‘the worry’. (Bahr. K.S., 1994) They worried that they were not doing well most of them the time. Custodial grandparents also couldn’t just be indulgent and loving without worrying about their grandchildren’s discipline, homework, clean clothes, or health care. They couldn’t be glad to see them home and glad to see them go out.
Research data also depicted that grandmothers are often more likely to take the caregiving roles later in their lives and expressed more satisfaction with their roles as grandparents because they had been principally responsible for raising their own children. Grandfathers were less involved in the daily care of the grandchildren, however, some of them reported with more satisfaction when they had a active relationship with their grandchildren. The aspects of grandparenthood differ significantly fro grandmothers and grandfathers. The most common differences would be the types of activities and roles that grandparents would play, as well as different styles of grandparenting. Studies examined that grandmothers are closer to their grandchildren than grandfathers. (King, V. & Elder G. H. J., 1998).
The negative side of undertaking the parenting role once again has negative effects on the lives of grandparents. As previously mentioned that they feel high distressed and heavy burden put on their shoulders. Moreover, the enormous responsibilities accompanying the revival of the parenting role can be overwhelming for an older person who has less energy (Shore, 1990) Full time caregiving grandparents with lower income reported higher burden and a great deal of stress that were not related to part time caregiving grandparents. (Bowers, B. F., & Myers, B. J., 1999) Caregivers are significantly more distressed than no-caregivers. Although health consequences reported less attention, self-reported deterioration in health was found and it was linked to lower level of life satisfaction. From drawing on all these aspects, we can tell that how the adjustments affects grandparents’ normal lifestyles negatively. The difficulty of caregiving was made worse by low income, low energy and vitality. Each of these three factors is wrapped around one another in a transactional way.
Despite the negative aspects of grandparenting, grandparents did also reported that many of them felt fortunate to be parenting again so they could do a better job than they raised their own children. (Hayslip, B.J., Shore R. J., Henderson, C. E. & Lambert, P. L., 1998). Since grandparenting began, the proximity between the grandparents and grandchildren has been increased. Grandparents were more likely to do more activities with their adolescent grandchildren, are more likely to play a mentorship role. (King, V. & Elder G. H. J., 1998). Grandparents would teach their grandchildren unique skill, which passed from generations to generations. On the other hand, the grandchildren were more likely to tell the problems they had and discuss their future with their grandparents.
Hypotheses:
The purpose of this study is to explore the difference effects have on between grandmothers and grandfathers who provide full time caregiving for their adult children. Are these effects positive? If so, what are they? If not, what are the negative effects? How are those effects affect their routine daily life? Would grandparenting increased the proximity between both the grandparent-adult children and grandparent-grandchildren relations? If the grandparents can go back and make the decision again would they not provide the care for their grandchildren? If not, what are the main reasons they provide care for their grandchildren? Are educational attainment and level of income determinants of the relationship between grandparent-grandchildren? What factors cause full time caregivers higher stress than part time caregivers? How are grandparents going to rank the satisfaction they gain from grandparenting relative to other significant role in later life including parenthood, marriage, and career?
As predicted from past researches, there will be more negatively effects on the grandparents’ life since they begin to provide care. They will have limitations on time and their social life. The increasing proximity will increase according to more communication between each party. It can also foresee that grandparents will let someone they trust and accept to take on such a heavy responsibilities if they can do this decision once again. The reasons of providing care for the grandchildren is varied, however, the main concern is that the grandparents do not want to see their grandchildren being placed in foster home. Educational attainment and level of income are major concerns in such a relationship. Older people are reported having high stress burden and rigid relationship with their grandchildren with lower income and low educational attainment. Since they are not knowledgeable, the grandchildren will not come to seek them for help and future planning.
Method
: A sample of 200 grandparents with grandchildren age 18 years or younger will be recruited for this study. So comparison will be make possible. Attempts will make to recruit all the grandparent caregivers from the general population. The sample of this study consist of Canadian grandparents, subject would be primarily collected from the Greater Toronto Area and Vancouver, who volunteer to complete questionnaires on amount of time they spend with their grandchildren and future interviews if the subject is applicable to this study. The subjects would mostly contact by means of a snowball system starting with friends and neighabours. By means of this technique, a selected group of data of middle-class origin will be gathered. Also, volunteers will be recruited by a variety of methods to ensure that there will be a reasonably representative sample of both full time caregiver and part time caregiver of both gender. Community organization such as Canadian Legion branches, senior centres, libraries, older adult organizations, phone interview, newspapers announcements and radio solicitations will be the potential sources of gathering the sample randomly. For telephone interview, this survey will use a random digit dialing method that guarantees a random sample of respondents. Respondents over the age of 35 who reports that they are grandparents will mail a questionnaire. If both couples are parenting, only one would permit to participate in this study.
Grandparents are asked to target a particular grandchild for the purpose of this study. They are asked to select the grandchild for whom they provide the most care. If they are giving full care to more than one grandchild, they have to choose the first grandchild they provide care for.
First, a demographic questionnaire will be sent to gain more information about their gender and age as well as those of their children and grandchildren, the socio-economic background of the participants, the educational level of the grandparents and the parents, the number of children in the family, the parental marital status and how far they live from their grandchildren and how often they spent in the company of each grandchild. The second part of the questionnaire will be mailed to participates to determine any difficulties they face during grandparenting and the duration of grandparenting. The grandparents will ask to answer the questions according to their present state.
After they send back the survey. They will be followed by a brief phone interview or contacted in some other way, and if they agree to take part in the study after being informed of what participation involved, the grandparents will be told that they will be contact within a month. The grandparents will be interviewed individually. Then, all subjects will be interviewed extensively, on average 1 hours, by means of semi-structured explorations regarding several aspects of grandparent-grandchildren and grandparent and adult children relationships. The exploration method allows for wide questioning and tries to encompass all possible topics. Most of the categories with a rating scale of 5 points (for example, ‘very low’, ‘low’, ‘average’, ‘high, ‘very high’). Afterward, the grandparent and the grandchild will be placed in a videotaped room for about 30 minutes.
Data concerning grandparents’ characteristics, and information about contacts, relations and interactions between grandchildren and grandparents will be analyzed. Second any subjective evaluation of contacts with grandparents – what these contacts will bring into their life, what role grand parents will play in their physical, cognitive, social, emotional and moral development, will be categorized. The four categories of grandparent – maternal grandmother, maternal grandfather, paternal grandmother and parental grandfather will be treated separately.
Third, the interview would videotape the playing with the target grandchild for at least half an hour. The grandparents will be interviewed at home on one occasion and the child will be administered one of the instruments used to assess the cognitive development and the psychological aspect that the grandparents will experience.
With the data collect from both the two parts of questionnaire and the interview and also the videotaped session, a comparison will be made according to four different categories of grandparents as a subgroup, then comparing these data with different gender and cross gender as well.
Reference:
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