My Account Wish List
Advanced Search
Print - Close Window
www.greenwood.com/catalog/C8077.aspx
All Greenwood Products
Amazing Grace African American Grandmothers as Caregivers and Conveyors of Traditional Values
Dorothy Smith Ruiz
ISBN: 0-275-98077-4
ISBN-13: 978-0-275-98077-1
152 pages
Praeger Publishers
Publication: 6/30/2004
List Price: $60.95 (UK Sterling Price: £42.95)
Availability: In Stock
Media Type: Hardcover
Trim Size: 6 1/8 x 9 1/4
Subjects:
Description: Intergenerational African families in which the grandmother is the primary caregiver of grandchildren and great-grandchildren are increasing rapidly in American society. Over the past decade, researchers and policy makers have shown considerable concern over the increases in grandparent-maintained households. This concern has stimulated a proliferation of research on grandparent caregiving on a wide range of issues. Among these are the impact of multiple roles on health, reasons for the rapid increase, problems and needs, social structure and extended family relationships, social support, role satisfaction, the impact of the AIDS and crack-cocaine epidemics, and emotional/physical well-being.

In spite of social, economic, and health demands faced by African American grandmothers, many of them accept parental responsibility of children who might otherwise become wards of the state. This book is organized to give a broad perspective on social characteristics, health issues, and experiences of African American grandmothers who act in the role of custodial parents to their grandchildren. Ruiz highlights the increase in grandparent caregivers over the past three decades, provides an overview of historical roles of the grandmother in African American families, and shows how the extended family has acted as a social-emotional and financial support in times of need.
Table of Contents:
  • Preface
    Introduction
    Historical Roles of Older African American Women
    Slavery, Family, and Religion: The Traditional Roles of Older African American Women in the Ante-bellum South during the 19th Century
    Related Research
    Grandparent Caregiving: A Review
    The Custodial African American Grandmother Study
    Methodology
    Quantitative Analysis
    Social and Demographic Characteristics
    Factors Influencing Life Satisfaction among African American Grandmothers Raising Grandchildren
    Social Factors, Health Status, and Depression
    Qualitative Analysis: Voices of Custodial Grandmothers
    Dominant Themes
    Summary and Implications for Research
    References
    Index
    About the Author
About the Author: DOROTHY SMITH RUIZ is Associate Professor of African American and African Studies and Sociology at the University of North Carolina, Charlotte. She is also the author of Mental Health and Mental Disorder among Black Americans (Greenwood Press, 1990).
LCC Class: 306
All rights reserved. Copyright © 1999-2009 ABC-CLIO
130 Cremona Dr., Santa Barbara, CA 93117 805-968-1911