Psychological distress in African American grandmothers raising grandchildren: The contribution of child behavior problems, physical health, and family resources

Abstract

Diminished psychological health has been identified among caregiving grandmothers. The intent of this investigation was to examine psychological distress levels, as well as their predictors, in a sample of 480 caregiving African American grandmothers, mean age 56 years. Almost 40% (39.8%) of participants had clinically elevated psychological distress scores. Results of hierarchical multiple regression indicated that internalizing and externalizing child behavior problems, poor grandmother physical health, younger age of grandmother, and lack of family resources predicted 31% of the variance in psychological distress. Results provide direction for nursing interventions aimed at enhancing the psychological well-being of caregiving grandmothers.