NICHD / R03 - Feinian Chen
Abstract
The proposed study focuses on the impact of caregiving for grandchildren on grandparents' health for different race/ethnic groups in the U.S. Although it is known that Black and Hispanic grandparents are more likely to co-reside with grandchildren and to provide routine care for grandchildren than their White counterparts, much less is known about whether varied levels of caregiving have differential effects on their health. First, minority grandparents who are heavily involved with childcare tend to be disproportionately concentrated in the lower socioeconomic ladder and may have poorer health conditions initially, thus making it difficult to infer a causal linkage between caregiving and health. Second, the socioeconomic disadvantages of Black and Hispanic minorities may also induce additional stress and exacerbate existing poor health conditions. Third, the presence of strong familistic traditions and the mobilization of social support network may act as a buffer for adverse socioeconomic conditions, in addition to the emotional reward generally associated with grandparenting. The proposed study uses data from the Health and Retirement Study, a nationally representative, longitudinal panel study of older adults in the United States. Using the cumulative advantage/disadvantage and cumulative inequality (CAD/CI) framework, the project should enhance our understanding of different mechanisms through which grandparents’ caregiving influences health trajectories. The focus on race/ethnic disparities is critically important, given minority grandparents' higher level of childcare involvement, race/ethnic differences in sub-cultural norms, socioeconomic resources and social ties, and the rate of growth of the Hispanic population.