Caregiver stress in grandparents raising grandchildren

The purpose of this descriptive study was to examine caregiver stress in grandparents who are raising grandchildren as well as the antecedents to the child's placement with grandparents. The sample was 41 grandparents, aged 40 to 78 years, with a mean of 55 years. Subjects reported increased psychological distress as measured by the Symptom Checklist-90-Revised inventory. Social isolation and restriction of role, as measured by the Parenting Stress Index, were found to be predictors of increased psychological distress. Child maltreatment, often involving parental substance abuse, was found to be the major antecedent to children being raised by grandparents.