ABSTRACT
Empowerment is often a focal outcome of community-based support services designed to enhance the well-being of grandparent-headed families. The authors in the present study conducted a correlational analysis to determine possible links between perceptions of empower-ment, using the Family Empowerment Scale, perceived family support, and community resources. Using a convenience sample of 311 custodial grandparents participating in a comprehensive, multi-disciplinary program, pre/post test findings suggest the custodial grandparents experienced an enhanced perception of empowerment across all dimensions and subscale (p ≤ .001), except competence. However, weak correlations were found between empowerment and perceptions of family support and community resources, suggesting using independent measures of perceived community resources and family support may not serve as surrogates for a specific empowerment measure. In addition, qualitative statements from six grandparents supported the quantitative findings, providing further insight on the program's effect on perceived empowerment.
