he American Association for Retired Persons (AARP), grandparents most often raise their grandchildren ôas a result of family neglect or tragedies, such as substance abuse, death, divorce, parental joblessness, incarceration or child abuseö (Thompson 5). Incapacitating diseases such as AIDS are also a factor. Heywood points to the growing number of children orphaned by AIDS, and the crack epidemic as two of the major causes of the dramatic increase in the prevalence of grandparent caregivers since the 1980s (367). One significant effect of this situation is that grandparents who must become ôparentsö of young children for the second time in their lives are twice as likely to suffer from depression than those who are not raising grandchildren; the risk of depression is greatest in women (Thompson 5). Although grandparent caregivers are found in all ethnic groups, economic and social classes, geographic areas and genders, the majority of grandparent caregivers are female. The typical grandparent raising a grandchild is a white, married woman living in poverty (Roe & Minkler 25). Percentage wise, however, more African American women raise their grandchildren than any other group. ôBeing single, living in poverty, and being an African American do substantially increase the odds of becoming a caregiver for oneÆs grandchildrenö (Roe & Minkler 25).
Grandparents who become primary caregivers are responsible for the emotional, social, educational and financial well-being of 1.35 million children (Heywood 367). This puts tremendous pressure on many grandparents who must assume a role in life with which they thought they were finished. The challenges grandparents face in rearing their grandchildren are huge, affecting their physical, emotional, mental and economic health. Blackburn points out that custodial grandparents encounter a variety of parental concerns including discipline issues, financial support resources, legal issues, ôand...