What Is Grandfamilies' Resilience? Findings from a Mixed-Method Study

Background and Purpose: In the United States, approximately 8 million children live in grandfamilies, where grandparents are primary caregivers (Generations United, 2015). Grandfamilies face tremendous challenges (e.g., economic stress, parenting stress, mental and physical health stress) when they step in to care for their grandchildren (Tang et al., 2015). Despite these challenges, grandfamilies demonstrate remarkable resilience (Bailey et al., 2019; Tang et al., 2015). However, very few studies have explored what resilience is and what its dimensions are among grandfamilies (Mendoza, 2018). To address this gap, this mixed-method study aimed to (1) define and understand grandfamilies' resilience and its dimensions, and (2) compare differences in resilience among grandfamilies of different race/ethnicity.

Methods: The present study used data collected from a large cross-sectional mixed-method project. The qualitative data was collected from an online survey among grandparents raising grandchildren in the United States (n = 288) from May 2021 to February 2022. In the survey, we used the family coping index (McCubbin, Olson, & Larson, 1981) to capture grandfamilies’ resilience. Descriptive and ANOVA analyses using STATA were conducted to describe grandfamilies’ resilience and compare differences in resilience by grandparents’ race/ethnicity. Further, we conducted 2 focus groups and 6 one-on-one Zoom interviews with 11 grandparents in South Carolina, ranging from 30 min to an hour, from August 2021 to March 2022. Interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. We analyzed interview data thematically using Dedoose. Peer debriefing was used to enhance the rigor of qualitative results.

Results: Our survey results indicated that grandfamilies’ resilience could be captured in four dimensions: having confidence in their ability to solve problems (M = 4.13, SD = 0.66), seeking spiritual support (M = 3.58, SD = 1.04), seeking professional guidance (M = 3.36, SD = 0.99), and seeking family and neighbor support (M = 3.20, SD = 0.75). Results further indicated that there were significant differences in seeking professional support and spiritual guidance among three different racial/ethnic groups (i.e., White, Black, and other). Black grandfamilies had the highest level of spiritual support (Black: M=3.96, White: M=3.39, other: M=3.71; F=8.35, p=0.0003) and the highest level of seeking professional guidance (Black: M=3.61, White: M=3.25, other: M=3.45; F=3.52, p=0.03). Our qualitative interview data further provided a fuller picture of these four dimensions of family resilience. For instance, resilient grandfamilies demonstrated positive outlooks on family events and were genuinely hopeful. Many grandfamilies mentioned the importance of faith in God and spiritual support. Resilient grandfamilies also proactively sought and received supportive services for their grandchildren, such as mental health services, physical health services, special education services, and using after school programs. Meanwhile, grandparents sought support in the community, such as local NPOs, libraries, and schools and/or via their relatives and neighbors.

Conclusions and Implications: This study extends our understanding of resilience among grandfamilies and provides some specific implications on how to strengthen grandfamilies’ resilience. Future interventions that aim to improve grandfamilies’ resilience could focus on these four dimensions but need to be culturally responsive.