Helping with health status, behavioral/emotional issues, and school challenges are all part of the job when grandparents raise grandkids.
Skipped Generation Households: A Snapshot of Preface for Three Articles
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Advocating for Grandparents Who Step in to Parent
Bolstering the village it takes to raise grandchildren whose parents are out of the picture.
The Power of Strength: A Tribute to My Grandmother and All Grandparents
Grandparents are key to raising grandchildren in the U.S., despite economic, emotional, and physical sacrifices.
A Glimpse into the Lives of African American Grandmothers Caring on the Margins
A lack of familial or community resources makes the grandmothering job all-consuming and nearly impossible.
A Case Study of Compound Caregiving by an African American Grandmother
Addressing the preferred ways extended family and healthcare providers might provide stress relief for compound caregivers.
The Impact of Latino Culture on the Experiences of Abuelitas (Grandmothers)
How cultural values like familismo, machismo, and marianismo can influence grandmothers’ view of their role.
Family Dynamics When Grandchildren Are Not Siblings: An Opening Discussion
What we do and don’t know about the impact of family composition on family or child outcomes, particularly in grandparent-headed families.
Getting By Is Not Enough
Poverty—A neglected driving force in skip-generation African-American caregiver households.
Keeping Families Together Via Better Guardianship Rules
Guardianship laws fall short of meeting the needs of BIPOC grandparents and the children in their care.
Diversity Among Grandparent Caregivers: What We Need to Learn
Defining challenges, raising questions, and providing answers to which type of research might best assist BIPOC grandparents raising grandchildren.
InsideWinter 2024-25Generations Journal
Generations Journal, vol. 48, no. 4 (Winter 2024-25)
Skipped Generation Households: A Snapshot of Preface for Three Articles
Abstract Previous research has insufficiently investigated how grandparents in skipped-generation households (consisting only of grandparents and grandchildren) interpret and respond to children's social, emotional, cognitive, and physical developmental needs. This...
Advocating for Grandparents Who Step in to Parent
It has been an immense pleasure to work on this seminal issue of Generations about Grandparenthood, specifically as it relates to BIPOC grandparents raising grandchildren in skipped generation households. Guest Editor Wendy Lustbader, MSW, is a Clinical Professor in...
The Power of Strength: A Tribute to My Grandmother and All Grandparents
Background: Setting the Stage According to the Oxford Dictionary, strength is the ability to withstand great force or pressure. When you turn on the news or talk to a family, friend, neighbor, or co-worker, it is evident that we all are living in a time of great...
A Glimpse into the Lives of African American Grandmothers Caring on the Margins
Abstract This article details experiences of grandmothers from marginalized communities caring for grandchildren outside the formal kinship care system. It begins with my journey into the field of grandparent caregiving as a doctoral student, then details findings...
A Case Study of Compound Caregiving by an African American Grandmother
Abstract Twenty-four percent of African American women are caring for more than two people—also known as compound caregiving. Such caregivers face elevated risks of invisibility, social isolation and loneliness, emotional distress, financial strain, and physical...
The Impact of Latino Culture on the Experiences of Abuelitas (Grandmothers)
Abstract In order to create culturally appropriate interventions and supportive services for Latina grandmothers raising grandchildren, it is necessary to understand the impact of the Latino culture on these women's experiences and perspectives. Latino cultural values...
Family Dynamics When Grandchildren Are Not Siblings: An Opening Discussion
Abstract This article draws attention to the influence of family composition among grandparent-headed families, and its likely impact on family functioning. In this instance, family composition refers to the number of members in a family unit and whether the...
Getting By Is Not Enough
Abstract African American grandparents are an essential part of family stability. Yet too many skip-generation households must navigate care within the constraints of poverty and adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). They are called upon and expected to do more with...
Keeping Families Together Via Better Guardianship Rules
Abstract In many BIPOC families, children spend significant periods under their grandparents' or other relatives' care. Minor guardianship can be an important legal mechanism, giving caregivers the legal status needed to serve as a substitute parent and provide...
Diversity Among Grandparent Caregivers: What We Need to Learn
Abstract: This article examines the implications of prioritizing diversity among grandparent caregivers as a lens through which they can be better understood, with special attention to Black, Indigenous, and Persons of Color (BIPOC). Over the past few decades, the...
‘I Wanna Put That Education in Them’
Abstract This article examines how grandmothers raising their grandchildren in skipped-generation households support their grandchildren's cognitive development across the life course, predominantly by prioritizing their education in daily routines and by...
Getting Grandchildren Back on Their Feet
Abstract This article examines how grandmothers raising grandchildren in skipped-generation households tended to their grandchildren's physical development, including 1) treating illnesses and injuries; 2) alleviating malnourishment and teaching healthy eating habits;...
‘Your Grandma Is Here for You’
Abstract This article explores how grandmothers raising grandchildren in skipped-generation households fostered their healthy social and emotional development by helping them cope with emotional difficulties from parental absence and presence, grandfamily stigma, and...
Empowering Grandparent Caregivers Via In-Person and Virtual Programs
Abstract Empowerment programs for grandparent caregivers can serve to support and enhance the roles of grandparents in the community and family. Traditionally such programs have been offered in-person, with the leader acting as facilitator. In 2021, in-person...
A Culturally Adapted Kinship Navigator Program
Abstract The Port Gamble S'Klallam Tribe (PGST) operates as a full-service government, including a child welfare system in the Children and Family Services (CFS) Department and a Kinship Navigator Program, the Kinship Parenting Program. That program works with kinship...
Supporting Kinship Caregivers
Abstract This article describes Washington State's efforts to understand and support the needs of kinship caregivers through cultural adaptations, focusing on tribal and Latine communities. The state's Kinship Navigator Program history is described, as well as its...
GRAND Voices—Powerful Advocates for Change
Abstract Engaging people with lived experience needs to be intentional and supported to be effective. For more than 10 years, Generations United's GRAND Voices Network has demonstrated the power and impact of meaningful engagement changing public policy and service...
Suggested citation for articles in this issue: [Last Name(s), First Name(s)]. “Article Title.” Generations Journal, vol. [#], no. [#] [season and year (ex. Fall 2024)]. [URL]
About Generations Journal
Generations Journal is the quarterly journal of the American Society on Aging. Each issue is devoted to bringing together the most useful and current knowledge about a specific topic in the field of aging, with emphasis on practice, research, and policy.