Social Support and Grandparent Caregiver Health: One-Year Longitudinal Findings for Grandparents Raising Their Grandchildren

Abstract

Objectives. The role of social support in predicting health among grandparents raising grandchildren was explored among 86 grandparent caregivers assessed twice over a 1-year timeframe. Method. Relationships between social support and health were ascertained via cross-lagged analyses. Regression analyses explored the mitigating role of social support in influencing both health and depression among grandparent caregivers. Results. Cross-lagged findings suggested that social support predicted health over time rather than vice versa. Regression analyses found that this relationship held when adjusting for multiple covariates as well as previous levels of health, depression, and parental stress. Additionally, the interaction of overall health and social support at Time 1 predicted Time 2 depression. For those who lacked social support, overall health was negatively related to self-reported depression symptoms 1 year later; this was not the case among those reporting greater social support. In addition, parental stress moderated the effects of social support on depression, and social support moderated the effects of parental stress on depression. Discussion. Greater social support may lay the groundwork for better health, and such support, in concert with better health as well as lessened parental stress may prevent the development of depression among grandparent caregivers.