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Grandmothers Raising Grandchildren: An Exploration of Their Experiences and Emotions

Jonathan Williamson

The Counseling Center of Boulder, Colorado

Basilia Softas-Nall

Jill Miller

University of Northern Colorado

A qualitative study was designed to provide an in-depth understanding of the experiences and emotions of grandmothers raising their grandchildren. Participants included 7 grandmothers ranging in age from 48 to 80. In-depth, semistructured interviews were used. A computer program, NUD*IST, was used for data coding, and careful and thorough readings were made of transcripts and field notes. The grandmothers' stories revealed common themes of anger, frustration, loss, hurt, and depression. There was also love, satisfaction, pride, joy, feeling needed and youthful, and other positive emotions. A key finding was that grandmothers who did not report depression had positive and helpful relationships with the parents of the grandchildren, whereas the grandmothers with persistent depression had conflictive involvement with the parents. The findings may be useful to counselors and family therapists in treating families headed by grandmothers.

The Family Journal, Vol. 11, No. 1, 23-32 (2003)
DOI: 10.1177/1066480702238468
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[Abstract] [PDF]