Full Citation
Title: Why Dont Grandparents Claim Responsibility for Grandchildren in Skipped Generation Households?
Citation Type: Conference Paper
Publication Year: 2010
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Abstract: Several studies using the American Community Survey have noted that the likelihood ofgrandparents claiming primary caregiving responsibility for their grandchildren variesby household type. In three-generation households with at least one parent present, it isunsurprising that grandparents do not claim responsibility for most of the basic needsof one or more of these grandchildren. But when no parents reside in the household andthe grandparents do not claim responsibility, who is responsible for rearing thesegrandchildren? This study uses the 2007 American Community Survey to explore thisquestion.Researchers have suggested several answers to this question: 1) other members of thehousehold such as aunts, uncles, older siblings or other relatives may be caring for thegrandchildren; 2) although parents do not live in the same household, they may providefinancial assistance and pay frequent visits, and thus may be thought of as primary careproviders; 3) cultural differences in the understanding of what it is to provide for mostof the basic needs of the grandchildren may vary, resulting in substantially higherresponsibility claims among some subpopulations than others; 4) the grandparentgrandchildco-residential arrangement could be a temporary one in which parents areunable to care for their children for only a short period of time; and 5) the relativeambiguity of the question asked at the Census and ACS whether the respondent iscurrently responsible for most of the basic needs of any grandchild(ren) under the age of18 living in the same house or apartment may affect the accuracy of the findings. Weuse multivariate analyses and indirect methods to test these possible explanations.
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Authors: Casper, Lynne M.; Biblarz, Tim; Jayasundera, Radheeka
Conference Name: Population Association of America
Publisher Location: Dallas, TX
Data Collections: IPUMS USA
Topics: Aging and Retirement, Family and Marriage, Other
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