Ninth International Conference on Health, Wellness & Society

Abstract

Globally, the number of grandparents providing support to assist with raising grandchildren or as their custodial parent has grown significantly. Studies demonstrate family crises often necessitate grandparents providing support or assuming an oft-time parenting role to sustain family functionality for their grandchildren. Often time examination of this role assumption occurs through the lens of burden and the deleterious familial, psychological, and medical outcomes for grandparent caregivers. In contrast, the present research explored grandparent caregivers’ choice to parents, parental stress, resources, spirituality, and social supports contribution to grandparent caregivers’ experience of positive well-being, specifically life satisfaction. Study findings suggest perception of adequate resources and choice to parent as the strongest predictors of grandparent caregivers’ positive life satisfaction. Implications for practice, policy, and research are provided. Methods to increase and support positive grandparent caregiver well-being will be discussed.