Theories of Grandparental Stress

• Main Authors: Thamilselvi Pandialagappan, Rahimah Ibrahim
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: CSRC Publishing 2018-06-01
• Series: Journal of Business and Social Review in Emerging Economies
• Subjects: Grandparental stress; factors; theory
• Online Access: https://publishing.globalcsrc.org/ojs/index.php/jbsee/article/view/372

Many grandparents today have the responsibility of caring for their grandchildren. Clearly, grandparenting has become a complex, diversified role within families. As the number of grandparent-headed households continues to increase in society, so do their stressors. Although it is not a new phenomenon, interest in examining grandparental stress is relatively new. The focus of this paper is to provide an overview of theories and factors influencing grandparental stress. The paper briefly reviews theories to explain causes of grandparental stress. Based on the reviewed theories, it can be concluded that grandparental stress is a multifactorial problem that appears to affect grandparent caregivers overall well-being. The stress experienced by custodial grandparents was related to their caregiving situation, the subsequent environmental and socioeconomic status.