Grandchildren's Depressive Symptoms and Perceptions of Family Functioning: Protective and Influencing Factors.
Carol M Musil, Heather M Rice, Mark Singer and 6 others
PMID 28738731WHAT IT FOUND
Children with higher self-control and problem-solving skills reported fewer depressive symptoms, regardless of whether they lived with parents or grandmothers.
Feeling emotionally supported also reduced symptoms, while practical help from family predicted better perceptions of family functioning.
Key findings
01Resourcefulness was the strongest predictor of fewer depressive symptoms; for every incremental increase in resourcefulness, depressive symptoms decreased by 3.15 points.
02Subjective social support was significantly associated with fewer depressive symptoms and better perceived family functioning, whereas instrumental support predicted family functioning but not depressive symptoms.
03Being raised by a grandmother did not dispose a grandchild to mental health problems, and age, gender, and living situation had no effect on depressive symptoms.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The sample was recruited through grandmothers, which may introduce sampling bias and limit generalizability to families where the grandmother is not the primary caregiver or not involved. The cross-sectional nature of the data prevents establishing causality between resourcefulness, support, and mental health outcomes. The wide age range of participants (8 to 19 years) may mask age-specific patterns, as developmental differences in coping and family dynamics were not analyzed separately. Grandchildren's race was not collected, limiting the ability to assess cultural factors that may influence family functioning and mental health.
Declared interests
The study was funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The authors declared no conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume that living with a grandmother is a risk factor for depression. The study found that being raised by a grandmother did not dispose grandchildren to mental health problems. Instead, individual factors like low resourcefulness and lack of subjective support were the significant predictors of symptoms.