Needs for Information About Supportive Resources: A Predictor of Needs for Service and Service Use in African American Grandmother Caregivers

Abstract

This study's purpose was to explore relationships among perceived needs for information about resources, service needs, and service use. Ninety-three African-American grandmothers aged 36 to 78 who were primary caregivers for their biological grandchildren participated. Relationships among variables were analyzed using hierarchical multiple regression, controlling for grandmothers' demographic characteristics. While grandmother age and number of grandchildren predicted needs for information about resources, such needs predicted both perceived service need and service use. Findings not only underscore the importance of sensitivity to variation across persons in needs for information about services among African American grandmother caregivers but also emphasize the key roles that such needs play in predicting both needs for services and the use of a variety of social, medical, and legal services.