Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-dsjbd Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-23T05:50:19.773Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Dumela Mma: an examination of resilience among South African grandmothers raising grandchildren

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 September 2015

MEGAN L. DOLBIN-MACNAB ,
SHANNON E. JARROTT ,
LYN E. MOORE ,
KENDRA A. O'HORA ,
MARIETTE DE CHAVONNES VRUGT  and
MYRTLE ERASMUS
MEGAN L. DOLBIN-MACNAB*
Affiliation:
Human Development, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, USA.
SHANNON E. JARROTT
Affiliation:
College of Social Work, The Ohio State University, Columbus, USA.
LYN E. MOORE
Affiliation:
Human Development, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, USA.
KENDRA A. O'HORA
Affiliation:
Human Development, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, USA.
MARIETTE DE CHAVONNES VRUGT
Affiliation:
Social Work, North-West University - Mafikeng Campus, Mmabatho, South Africa.
MYRTLE ERASMUS
Affiliation:
School of Teacher Education and Training, North-West University, Mmabatho, South Africa.
*
Address for correspondence: Megan Dolbin-MacNab, Virginia Tech – Human Development, Family Therapy Center of Virginia Tech (0515), 840 University City Blvd, Suite 1, Blacksburg, VA 24060, USA E-mail: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Grandmothers serve as primary care-givers for a significant number of South African children. Previous research has documented that South African grandmothers experience physical, financial, emotional and social adversity. However, less attention has been given to South African grandmothers' resilience, or their capacity to respond to the challenges associated with raising their grandchildren. Utilising Walsh's (2003; 2012) family resilience model, this qualitative study examined resilience and resilient processes among 75 Black South African grandmothers raising grandchildren. Grandmothers participated in structured interviews during a weekly visit to a local luncheon (social) club. Results indicated that the grandmothers perceived themselves as engaging in a number of resilient processes, including relying on their spirituality, accessing sources of instrumental support, and seeking emotional support and companionship from their grandchildren and larger communities. Grandmothers also believed that focusing on their grandchildren contributed to their sense of resilience. This involved maintaining a sense of responsibility to their grandchildren, having hope for their grandchildren's futures and finding enjoyment in the grandmother–grandchild relationship. The findings reveal that, by engaging in various resilient processes, South African grandmothers raising grandchildren perceive themselves and their families as having strategies they can utilise in order to successfully cope with adversity. Findings also highlight the need for prevention and intervention efforts designed to promote grandmothers' resilience, as well as the resilience of their grandchildren.

Keywords

South Africagrandmothers raising grandchildrenresiliencegrandmothers
Type
Articles
Information
Ageing & Society , Volume 36 , Issue 10 , November 2016 , pp. 2182 - 2212
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2015 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Amoateng, A. Y. and Richter, L. M. 2007. Social and Economic Context of Families and Households in South Africa. HSRC Press, Cape Town, South Africa.Google Scholar
Ankrah, E. M. 1993. The impact of HIV/AIDS on the family and other significant relationships: the African clan revisited. AIDS Care, 5, 1, 5–22.Google Scholar
Bachman, H. J. and Chase-Lansdale, P. L. 2005. Custodial grandmothers’ physical, mental, and economic well-being: comparisons of primary caregivers from low-income neighborhoods. Family Relations, 54, 4, 475–87.Google Scholar
Bailey, S. J., Letiecq, B. L. and Porterfield, F. 2009. Family coping and adaptation among grandparents rearing grandchildren. Journal of Intergenerational Relationships, 7, 2/3, 144–58.Google Scholar
Boon, H., Ruiter, R. A. C., James, S., van den Borne, H. W., Williams, E. and Reddy, P. 2010. Correlates of grief among older adults caring for children and grandchildren as a consequence of HIV and AIDS in South Africa. Journal of Aging and Health, 22, 1, 48–67.Google Scholar
Castillo, K., Henderson, C. and North, L. 2013. The relation between caregiving style, coping, benefit finding, grandchild symptoms, and caregiver adjustment among custodial grandparents. In Hayslip, B. and Smith, G. C. (eds), Resilient Grandparent Caregivers: A Strengths-based Perspective. Routledge, New York, 25–37.Google Scholar
Chazan, M. 2008. Seven ‘deadly’ assumptions: unravelling the implication of HIV/AIDS among grandmothers in South Africa and beyond. Ageing & Society, 28, 7, 935–58.Google Scholar
Child Trends 2013. World Family Map 2013: Mapping Family Change and Child Well-being Outcomes. Available online at http://worldfamilymap.org/2013/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/WFM-2013-Final-lores-11513.pdf [Accessed 2 June 2014].Google Scholar
Collinson, M., Clark, S. J., Gerritsen, A. A. M., Byass, P., Kahn, K. and Tollman, S. 2009. The Dynamics of Poverty and Migration in a Rural South African Community, 2001–2005. Available online at http://www.colorado.edu/ibs/pubs/pop/pop2009-0010.pdf [Accessed 5 June 2014].Google Scholar
Cox, C. and Chesek, E. 2012. Taking grandparent empowerment to Tanzania. A pilot project. Journal of Intergenerational Relationships, 10, 2, 160–72.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Creswell, J. W. 2013. Qualitative Inquiry & Research Design: Choosing Among Five Approaches. Sage, Thousand Oaks, California.Google Scholar
Delany, A., Ismail, Z., Graham, L. and Ramkissoon, Y. 2008. Review of the Child Support Grant: Uses, Implementation and Obstacles. Community Agency for Social Enquiry, Johannesburg, South Africa.Google Scholar
Dolbin-MacNab, M. L. 2006. Just like raising your own? Grandmothers’ perceptions of parenting a second time around. Family Relations, 55, 5, 564–75.Google Scholar
Dolbin-MacNab, M. L. and Keiley, M. K. 2006. A systemic examination of grandparents’ emotional closeness with their custodial grandchildren. Research in Human Development, 3, 1, 59–71.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ellison, C. G., Boardman, J. D., Williams, D. R. and Jackson, J. S. 2001. Religious involvement, stress, and mental health: findings from the 1995 Detroit Area Study. Social Forces, 80, 1, 215–49.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Food Security Information Network 2014. Resilience Measurement Principles: Toward an Agenda for Measurement Design. Available online at http://ww.fsincop.net/fileadmin/user_upload/fsin/docs/resources/FSIN_29jan_WEB_mediumres.pdf [Accessed 5 March 2015].Google Scholar
Gerard, J. M., Landry-Meyer, L. and Roe, J. G. 2006. Grandparents raising grandchildren: the role of social support in coping with caregiving challenges. International Journal of Aging and Human Development, 62, 4, 359–83.Google Scholar
Gibson, M. A. and Mace, R. 2005. Helpful grandmothers in rural Ethiopia: a study of the effect of kin on child survival and growth. Evolution and Human Behavior, 26, 6, 469–82.Google Scholar
Gradin, C. 2013. Race, poverty, and deprivation in South Africa. Journal of African Economies, 22, 2, 187–238.Google Scholar
Hall, K. 2013. Income poverty, unemployment and social grants. In Berry, L., Biersteker, L., Dawes, A., Lake, L. and Smith, C. (eds), South African Child Gauge 2013. Available online at http://www.ci.org.za/depts/ci/pubs/pdf/general/gauge2013/Gauge2013ChildrenCountDemography.pdf [Accessed 3 June 2014].Google Scholar
Hall, K., Nannan, N. and Sambu, W. 2013. Child health and nutrition. In Berry, L., Biersteker, L., Dawes, A., Lake, L. and Smith, C. (eds), South African Child Gauge 2013. Available online at http://www.ci.org.za/depts/ci/pubs/pdf/general/gauge2013/SouthAfricanChildGauge2013.pdf [Accessed 3 June 2014].Google Scholar
Hayslip, B. and Smith, G. C. (eds) 2013. Resilient Grandparent Caregivers: A Strengths-based Perspective. Routledge, New York.Google Scholar
Hlabyago, K. E. and Ogunbanjo, G. A. 2009. The experiences of family caregivers concerning their care of HIV/AIDS orphans. South Africa Family Practice, 51, 6, 506–11.Google Scholar
James, L. and Ferrante, C. 2013. Skip generations: a strength-based mentoring program for resilience grandparent caregivers. In Hayslip, B. and Smith, G. C. (eds), Resilient Grandparent Caregivers: A Strengths-based Perspective. Routledge, New York, 167–83.Google Scholar
Johnson, K., Dada, S., Burnhams, N. H., Parry, C., Bhana, A., Timol, F., Fourie, D., Kitshoff, D., Nel, E. and Weinmann, R. 2014. South African Community Epidemiology Network on Drug Use. Research Brief. Available online at http://www.mrc.ac.za/adarg/sacendu/sacenduBriefJune2014.pdf [Accessed 19 January 2015].Google Scholar
Kelley, S. J., Whitley, D. M. and Campos, P. E. 2012. African American caregiving grandmothers: results of an intervention to improve health indicators and health promotion behaviors. Journal of Family Nursing, 19, 1, 53–73.Google Scholar
Kuo, C. and Operario, D. 2011. Health of adults caring for orphaned children in an HIV-endemic community in South Africa. AIDS Care, 23, 9, 1128–35.Google Scholar
Leipold, B. and Greve, W. 2009. Resilience: a conceptual bridge between coping and development. European Psychologist, 14, 1, 40–50.Google Scholar
Lincoln, Y. S. and Guba, E. G. 1985. Naturalistic Inquiry. Sage, New York.Google Scholar
Luthar, S. S., Cicchetti, D. and Becker, B. 2000. The construct of resilience: a critical evaluation and guidelines for future work. Child Development, 71, 3, 543–62.Google Scholar
Madhavan, S. 2004. Fosterage patterns in the age of AIDS: continuity and change. Social Science and Medicine, 58, 7, 1443–54.Google Scholar
Masten, A. 2001. Ordinary magic: resilience processes in development. American Psychologist, 56, 3, 227–38.Google Scholar
May, J. 2003. Chronic Poverty and Older People in South Africa. Working Paper 25. Available online at http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1754421 [Accessed 8 June 2014].CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Meintjes, H. and Hall, K. 2013. Demography of South Africa's children. In Berry, L., Biersteker, L., Dawes, A., Lake, L. and Smith, C. (eds), South African Child Gauge 2013. Available online at http://www.ci.org.za/depts/ci/pubs/pdf/general/gauge2013/Gauge2013ChildrenCountDemography.pdf [Accessed 6 June 2014].Google Scholar
Mhaka-Mutepfa, M., Cumming, R. and Mpofu, E. 2014. Grandparents fostering orphans: influences of protective factors on their health and well-being. Health Care for Women International, 35, 7–9, 1022–39.Google Scholar
Muliira, R. S. and Muliira, J. K. 2011. Health-promoting practices and the factors associated with self-reported poor health in caregivers of children orphaned by AIDS in Southwest Uganda. African Journal of AIDS Research, 10, 4, 479–86.Google Scholar
Musil, C. M., Jeanblanc, A. B., Burant, C. J. and Zausniewski, J. A. 2013. Longitudinal analysis of resourcefulness, family strain, and depressive symptoms in grandmother caregivers. Nursing Outlook, 61, 4, 225–34.Google Scholar
Neely-Barnes, S. L., Graff, J. C. and Washington, G. 2010. The health-related quality of life of custodial grandparents. Health and Social Work, 35, 2, 87–97.Google Scholar
Nelson Mandela Foundation 2005. South African National HIV Prevalence, HIV Incidence, Behaviour, and Communication Survey, 2005. Available online at http://www.wsu.ac.za/hsrc/html/2152-9.pdf [Accessed 27 June 2014].Google Scholar
Numbeo 2014. Cost of Living in South Africa: Prices in South Africa. Available online at http://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/country_result.jsp?country=South+Africa [Accessed 18 June 2014].Google Scholar
Nyasani, E., Sterberg, E. and Smith, H. 2009. Fostering children affected by AIDS in Richards Bay, South Africa: a qualitative study of grandparents’ experiences. African Journal of AIDS Research, 8, 2, 181–92.Google Scholar
Patton, M. 2002. Qualitative Research and Evaluation Methods. Third edition, Sage, Thousand Oaks, California.Google Scholar
Rutter, M. 1987. Psychosocial resilience and protective mechanisms. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 57, 3, 316–31.Google Scholar
Schatz, E. and Ogunmefun, C. 2007. Caring and contributing: the role of older women in rural South African multigenerational households in the HIV/AIDS era. World Development, 35, 8, 1390–403.Google Scholar
Settles, B. H., Zhao, J., Mancini, K. D., Rich, A., Pierre, S. and Oduor, A. 2009. Grandparents caring for their grandchildren: emerging roles and exchanges in global perspectives. Journal of Comparative Family Studies, 40, 5, 827–48.Google Scholar
Smith, G. C. and Dolbin-MacNab, M. L. 2013. The role of negative and positive caregiving appraisals in key outcomes for custodial grandmothers and grandchildren. In Hayslip, B. and Smith, G. C. (eds), Resilient Grandparent Caregivers: A Strengths-based Perspective. Routledge, New York, 3–24.Google Scholar
South African Human Rights Commission 2011. South Africa's Children: A Review of Equity and Child Rights. Available online at www.unicef.org/southafrica/SAF_resources_factschildrens11.pdf [Accessed 3 June 2014].Google Scholar
Strauss, A. and Corbin, J. 1998. Basics of Qualitative Research: Techniques and Procedures for Developing Grounded Theory. Sage, Thousand Oaks, California.Google Scholar
UNAIDS 2013. UNAIDS Report on the Global AIDS Epidemic – 2013. Available online at http://www.unaids.org/en/media/unaids/contentassets/documents/epidemiology/2013/gr2013/unaids_global_report_2013_en.pdf [Accessed 4 June 2014].Google Scholar
UNICEF 2013. South Africa Statistics. Available online at http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/southafrica_statistics.html [Accessed 4 June 2014].Google Scholar
Waldrop, D. P. and Weber, J. A. 2001. From grandparent to caregiver: the stress and satisfaction of raising grandchildren. Families in Society, 82, 5, 461–72.Google Scholar
Walsh, F. 2003. Family resilience: a framework for clinical practice. Family Process, 41, 1, 1–18.Google Scholar
Walsh, F. 2012. Family resilience: strengths forged through adversity. In Walsh, F. (ed.), Normal Family Process. Fourth edition, Guilford, New York.Google Scholar
Zausniewski, J., Musil, C. M. and Au, T. 2013. Resourcefulness training for grandmothers: feasibility and acceptability of two methods. Issues in Mental Health Nursing, 34, 6, 435–41.Google Scholar