Mental Health and Disrupted Family Processes in the Lives of Court-Involved African American and Caucasian Youth Being Raised by Grandparents

Abstract

Using data generated from the Global Risk Assessment Device, mental health and disrupted family processes were examined in a sample of 166 court-involved youth being raised by grandparents. Race and gender mean differences were found with regard to both mental health symptoms and disrupted family processes. Specifically, Caucasian male adolescents reported higher mental health symptoms and disrupted family processes than African American males. Also, females in the sample generally reported higher disrupted family processes than males, with African American females reporting significantly higher average disrupted family processes than African American males. Despite mean differences associated with gender and race, when entered as predictors, neither main effects nor interactions of gender or race were related to mental health symptoms. Disrupted family processes were predictive of higher mental health symptoms. Family-targeted

Mental/behavioural health and educational outcomes of grandchildren raised by custodial grandparents: A mixed methods systematic review

“…Interactive Assessment (Valla et al, 2000), Eyberg Child Behaviour Inventory (Eyberg, 1999), Global Risk Assessment Device (Gavazzi & Lim, 2003) and Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (Goodman, 2001). Of note, one study (Yorgason et al, 2014) did not specify internalising or externalising problems, but the measurement itself captured both internalising and externalising problems.…”

Grandchildren’s Depressive Symptoms and Perceptions of Family Functioning: Protective and Influencing Factors

“…Regardless of gender, custodial grandchildren showed more behavior and emotional problems than normative samples (Smith & Palmieri, 2007). Among children raised by grandparents, disrupted family processes were associated with more mental health symptoms in youth across gender and race (Yorgason et al, 2014). For children raised by grandmothers, the grandmother’s mental health and a structured home environment supporting appropriate behavior and academic success had a positive impact on grandchildren’s behavior and protected against the development of psychological disorders (Goodman, 2012; Pilkauskas & Dunifon, 2016).…”

Interventions to Improve Outcomes of Grandchildren Raised by Grandparents: A Systematic Review

“…At the grandchild level, a number of factors were associated with children's socioemotional, mental, and behavioral problems. These factors included the grandchild's gender (e.g., being a male), race (e.g., being White), age (e.g., being older), prior traumatic experiences, low self-esteem, low social support, and low life satisfaction (Bernedo, Fuentes, & Fernández, 2008;Kelch-Oliver, 2011;Park & Lee, 2016;Yorgason et al, 2014). At the grandparent level, grandparents' mental health and parenting practices were the two most significant predictors of grandchildren's behavioral problems (Goodman, 2012;Smith et al, 2018;Smithgall, Mason, Michels, LiCalsi, & Goerge, 2009).…”