The Gerontologist, Vol 39, Issue 2 209-221, Copyright © 1999 by The Gerontological Society of America

ARTICLES

Raising grandchildren: the experiences of black and white grandmothers

R Pruchno
Center for Child, Family and Community Partnerships, Boston College, Newton, MA 02459, USA. pruchno@bc.edu

This article contrasts the experiences of 398 White and 319 Black grandmothers raising their grandchildren in the absence of the middle generation. Similarities include age, education, familial relationship to the grandchild, age of the grandchild being raised, reasons that grandmothers are raising their grandchildren, behaviors characteristic of the grandchildren, and impacts on the grandmother's work life. Differences include marital status, work status, and income. Black grandmothers are more likely than White grandmothers to have peers who also live with their grandchildren. Black grandmothers are also more likely to come from families in which multiple generations lived together and to be receiving support from formal sources. White grandmothers experienced more burden from their caregiving role than did Black grandmothers.

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