ABSTRACT
Grandparents have offered a stable source of parenting for grandchildren when parents are not able to provide for them. However, little is known about their well-being after their grandchildren have grown or their grandchild's assistance to these aging grandmothers in times of ill health. This pilot study of 50 grandmothers addressed the factors related to the well-being of grandmother caregivers who had raised grandchildren in terms of their personal and social resources. Considering personal resources, the grandmothers' resilience and their satisfaction with having raised their grandchildren were predictors of mental health and life satisfaction. In terms of social resources, closeness in the grandmother-grandchild relationship predicted mental health and lower depression; instrumental support from family and friends predicted lower depression; and subjective support from family and friends predicted life satisfaction. Grandmothers' poor health was marginally related to greater instrumental support from their grandchildren, possibly reflecting assistance mobilized in light of greater need. Interventions which enhance the essential grandmother-grandchild relationships are crucial, as well as interventions to foster other supportive relationships. Grandmothers can be encouraged to draw on the positives of their past caregiving experience and cultivate their own resilience in the face of adversity.
