Conceptualizing the Relationships Between Grandmothers and the Grandchildren They Are Raising: A Grounded Theory Approach

Abstract

Using a grounded theory approach (Strauss & Corbin, 1990), this study produced a conceptual framework for exploring the relationships between grandmothers and the grandchildren they are raising. Twenty-one grandmothers and grandchildren were engaged in in-depth interviews. grandmothers had legal custody of the participating grandchildren for at least the last six months. Grandchildren were between the ages of 7 and 14. Data were analyzed using open coding, axial coding, and selected coding. Four of the seven grandmothers were found to have a similar pattern due in large part to their daughters having a long history of drug addiction. These four grandmothers are the focus of the model. The remaining three grandmothers have dissimilar situations, but support the model as well. The study proposed a three-phase model of the relationships. These phases included: rescuer/protector, caregiver/provider, and mother/advocate. The model described movement from each phase through contextual conditions. The mother/advocate phase became the most developed phase of the model. Eight strategies used by the grandmothers to manage the mother/advocate phase are proposed. In addition, seven intervening conditions were identified that either constrain or enhance the strategies.