Custodial grandparenting: perceptions of loss by non-custodial grandparent peers

In order to explore the generalizability of perceptions of the losses experienced by grandparents raising their grandchildren, 610 traditional/non-custodial grandparents, who had no custodial responsibility for their grandchildren, read a randomly assigned scenario depicting a grandmother and her grandchild, wherein scenarios varied in terms of grandchild gender, the presence or absence of grandchild problems, and the reason for role assumption. They then completed the Perceptions of Loss (PLS) scale, where higher scores indexed greater awareness of loss. Results suggested that perceptions of loss varied by grandchild gender (favoring females), grandchild problem (favoring those with problems), and the reason for role assumption (favoring parental abandonment and parental drug abuse). Moreover, PLS scores were influenced by the interaction between grandchild gender and reason for role assumption, where the impact of role assumption was greater for female grandchildren than for male grandchildren. These findings in part parallel those obtained from young adults, and generally suggest that others in varying degrees are sensitive to the losses grandparents raising their grandchild experience. Such findings have implications regarding the extent to which grandparent caregivers' grief is disenfranchised, as well as impacting custodial grandparents' feelings of loneliness and isolation from age peers brought about by the necessity to raise their grandchildren.