2012

The authors hypothesized that disparities in both mental and physical health services for African Americans and other minorities increase with age. It appears that grandparents residing in violent, urban communities are confronted with multiple stressors that are often ignored by mainstream sources of quality health care. Based on the authors’ many years of working with minority children and families, it seems that minority grandparents, who are primary caregivers for a skipped generation of grandchildren with absent parents, are more vulnerable to health disparities. These grandparents endure often overwhelming financial, emotional, and physical stress and health issues based on the many demands associated with raising grandchildren attending urban schools that lack the resources needed to meet their educational and affective developmental needs. African American grandparents raising grandchildren in high-risk, urban, minority communities, are likely to encounter significant stressors and difficulties with health care access (Miranda, McGuire, Williams, & Wang, 2008; National Alliance on Mental Illness, n.d.; National Alliance on Mental Illness, 2004). It is important to research the health and stress of grandparent caregivers of young children to inform the development of support and intervention services for this population.