Social Support and Survival Strategies of Older African American Grandmother Caregivers

The effects of caring for grandchildren on grandparents’ emotional and physical well-being have become a significant area of focus in behavioral and medical research. Research suggests that African American grandmothers may experience increased mental and physical health challenges due to their caregiving stressors. To buffer the adverse influence of stress, caregivers often rely on informal social support from family and/or community members. In this study we explored older, African American caregivers’ management of their emotional well-being within the context and circumstances of available to minimal social support from family and community. During an 18-month period, seven caregiving grandmothers participated in three face-to-face, audiotaped, semi-structured interviews; eco-map and genogram data was included to understand the contextual complexities of caregivers’ social support and their strategies for survival. Using constant comparative analysis, six interrelated themes revealed grandmothers operated along a continuum of reliable to unreliable social support. In the context of these varying ranges of social support, four sub-themes depicting their survival strategies were identified: being strong, self-sacrificing, receiving help and self-compassion. Utilization of each survival strategy was dependent on grandmothers’ perception of where they fell on the continuum of reliable to unreliable social support. Grandmothers who engaged in being strong and self-sacrificing engaged in stress-related health behaviors, such as emotional eating, smoking nicotine, disruptive sleep patterns and postponement of self-care. We offer specific practice recommendations for addressing the emotional and physical health needs of grandmother caregivers

The Collective Spirit of Aging Across Cultures

XII, 286 p. 8 illus.online resource

Support groups for Alzheimer\u27s caregivers: Creating our own space in uncertain times

Older men are often excluded from family caregiving research despite the steady increase in the number of husbands assuming primary caregiving roles. We explored perceptions of older, male caregivers\u27 experiences with caring for a wife with Alzheimer\u27s Disease (AD) and examined what aspects of the support group were beneficial. Our qualitative research methods invited six caregivers ranging in age from 74 to 85 years to narratively construct their perspectives on caring for their wives with Alzheimer\u27s Disease and benefits of participation in an all-male support group. Thematic analyses revealed care-givers faced several transitions. Losses related to their personal relationships with their wife, family, and self, captured as loss of golden years. The second area, benefits and improvements of support groups, were captured in the following theme: creating our own space, which included two sub-themes: releasing our frustration and developing coping strategies. There was also Gendered experience of caregiving. This study revealed that male caregivers benefited from the support and company of other men in similar caregiving situations. Results from this study have implications for health care professionals for the development of psychosocial educational groups aimed at providing support to male caregivers

Support groups for Alzheimer’s caregivers: Creating our own space in uncertain times

Older men are often excluded from family caregiving research despite the steady increase in the number of husbands assuming primary caregiving roles. We explored perceptions of older, male caregivers\u27 experiences with caring for a wife with Alzheimer\u27s Disease (AD) and examined what aspects of the support group were beneficial. Our qualitative research methods invited six caregivers ranging in age from 74 to 85 years to narratively construct their perspectives on caring for their wives with Alzheimer\u27s Disease and benefits of participation in an all-male support group. Thematic analyses revealed care-givers faced several transitions. Losses related to their personal relationships with their wife, family, and self, captured as loss of golden years. The second area, benefits and improvements of support groups, were captured in the following theme: creating our own space, which included two sub-themes: releasing our frustration and developing coping strategies. There was also Gendered experience of caregiving. This study revealed that male caregivers benefited from the support and company of other men in similar caregiving situations. Results from this study have implications for health care professionals for the development of psychosocial educational groups aimed at providing support to male caregivers