ABSTRACT
This paper provides a conceptual discussion of the relationship between the surrogate parenting role of contemporary American grandparents and temporal, developmental, and ethnic/racial contexts of the life course. Grandparents who are surrogate parents, either operate as co-parents by assisting their adult children in the rearing of their offspring, or they assume total responsibility for providing the necessary care and socialization their grandchildren require when their parents cannot. The surrogate parenting responsibilities of grandparents are hypothesized to be affected by: (1) temporal context, which concerns the sequencing and synchronization of the assumption of surrogate parenting responsibilities by grandparents relative to their age, peer relationships, and other social role responsibilities; 350(2) developmental context, which focuses on how grandparents’ personal development is hindered or facilitated by the assumption of the surrogate parenting role; and (3) ethnic/racial context, which refers to the cultural influences grandparents bring to the surrogate parenting role. The implications of these contexts for the surrogate parenting role of grandparents relative to research, policy, programs, and education are discussed.
