Australian Grandparents Raising Grandchildren
Understanding the Complexities of Intergenerational and Vicarious Trauma
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 6427016 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Lynne Mcpherson (0000-0002-3356-2216, Southern Cross University, corresponding author), Kylie Day (0000-0003-0202-7808, Southern Cross University), Kathomi Gatwiri (0000-0002-7794-6481, Southern Cross University), Janise Mitchell (Australian Childhood Foundation), Noel Macnamara (Australian Childhood Foundation), Samara Kim (0009-0000-5650-1283, Southern Cross University) |
| Editors | Mohammad Niroumand Sarvandani (0000-0001-9790-3908) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 2025 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Publication date | 2025-01-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Health & Social Care in the Community (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0966-0410 • E-ISSN: 1365-2524 |
| Publisher | Wiley (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1155/hsc/9900467 |
| OpenAlex | W4406221030 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 50 |
Grandparents have a long history of assuming caregiving responsibilities, particularly in Indigenous communities, where the concepts of “kin” and “care” are expansive. In Australia, there has been a rise in grandparents becoming custodial carers for their grandchildren who cannot live with their parents, biological or otherwise. Placement with relatives or family friends is known as kinship care, with most of these families headed by grandparents raising grandchildren. Children being raised by kin are widely considered the preferred option compared to nonrelative institutional or foster care, as kinship care provides a connection to family, community, and culture and fosters a sense of belonging and identity, while also offering the potential for stable living arrangements. This paper reports on an Australian study involving 428 grandparent carers sharing their experiences of caring for their grandchildren as survey respondents, with nine of those carers participating in an individual in‐depth interview. Findings suggest that the pleasure of watching their grandchildren grow was a privilege for many. Alongside this privilege, many experienced multiple and complex levels of stress, distress and trauma, exacerbated by a service system that did not appear to want to hear or understand. Implications for policy, practice and further research are highlighted
Developmental psychology · Grandparent · Raising (metalworking · Child Welfare and Adoption · Family Support in Illness · Intergenerational Family Dynamics and Caregiving · Medicine · Psychology
Grandparents Raising Grandchildren
Adverse childhood experiences among children placed in and adopted from foster care
Translating Discovery Science. Improving self‐efficacy in grandparents raising grandchildren
Academic Trajectories of Children in Formal and Informal Kinship Care
A Systematic Review of Mental Health Disorders of Children in Foster Care
Caring for Grandchildren in Kinship Care
Attention to Gender and Race in Interventions for Custodial Grandparents
The Mental Health Well-Being of Grandparents Raising Grandchildren
Social Constructionist Approach to Suffering and Healing
Children's Perspectives on Their Relationships With Grandparents Following Parental Separation
A tangled web
Socioeconomic deprivation and social capital in kinship carers using a helpline service
Being there for my grandchild – grandparents' responses to their grandchildren's exposure to domestic violence
A family affair? Kinship care and parental substance misuse
Grandparents matter
Other children say you're not normal because you don't live with your parents’. Children's views of living with informal kinship carers
Grandparents raising grandchildren
It's rewarding because I get the love’
My daughter is a drug addict’
Social Support and Grandparent Caregiver Health
Systematic Review of Kinship Care Effects on Safety, Permanency, and Well-Being Outcomes
Perceived Social Support as a Mediator of the Link Between Intimate Partner Conflict and Child Adjustment
Effects of kinship care on behavioral problems by child age
Children in kinship care
Behavior problems in children raised by grandmothers
Exploring the behavior of juveniles and young adults raised by custodial grandmothers
A comparison of kinship foster homes and foster family homes
The most challenging aspect of this journey has been dealing with child protection”
Custodial grandchildren and foster children
Their Mum Messed Up and Gran Can’t Afford to’
Convenient Yet Neglected
Raising grandchildren from crack-cocaine households
Using thematic analysis in psychology
The Assumption of Caregiving
| Citations per year | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2026 - 2026 (1) |
| Highly cited | No |