Lived Experiences and Attributes of Custodial Grandparents that Influence Their Grandchild's Early Learning and Development: A Phenomenological Study
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Authors
Armstrong, Anita
Issue Date
2022-05-05
Volume
Issue
Type
Dissertation
Language
en_US
Keywords
Alternative Title
Abstract
Over the last decade, the United States has experienced a steady rise in the number of children who are placed in out-of-home care, due in large part to the opioid epidemic. When children cannot live with their parents, kinship care is the preferred placement option because it helps children maintain a sense of stability, familiarity, and connection to family culture. A majority of these relative caregivers are grandparents who take on full-time caregiving responsibility for their grandchildren. Custodial grandparenting differs from typical parenting and other kinship caregiving. The focus of this study was the
nonnormative experience of grandparents raising grandchildren. A phenomenological research design was used to explore the lived experiences and attributes of grandparents with custody of a preschool-age grandchild enrolled in Head Start. The study took place in the state of Ohio in the Midwestern region of the United States. The findings draw attention to grandparent-headed families as a specific family form with unique strengths, challenges, and needs. The findings also reveal a gap in the supports and services necessary to promote resilience and well-being among caregivers and children in grandparent-headed families.
This study contributes to existing research on grandfamilies and informs professional learning and continuous improvement within child and family serving systems.
Description
Citation
Publisher
Creighton University
License
Copyright is retained by the Author. A non-exclusive distribution right is granted to Creighton University and to ProQuest following the publishing model selected above.