“My Grandparent Has Dementia”

Abstract

The study examined the grandparent-grandchild relationship when the grandparent has dementia. Grandchildren living in Barcelona, Spain, participated in the study (n = 145). These participants completed a questionnaire that included questions on: (a) the frequency of 15 emotions they may have experienced in this relationship, (b) their current relationship with a grandparent who has dementia (frequency of contact, emotional closeness, and satisfaction with the relationship), and (c) perception of changes in the relationship. Results showed that the dementia process has a negative impact on the relationship between grandparent and grandchildren. However, in some cases, there was also potential for positive changes, which are mainly related to the ability to keep emotional contact and express positive emotions. Findings suggested the need to take into account grandchildren when planning training programs for families caring for relatives with dementia, such as providing information about the disease and improving their coping strategies.

Caring for Grandparents With Alzheimer’s Disease

“…This study highlights the auxiliary role that adolescent grandchildren play in family caregiving. Whereas early research on caregiving tended to ignore the contributions of adolescent grandchildren (Howard & Singleton, 2001) more recent studies are including them among the constellation of caregivers in the family system (e.g., Celdrán et al, 2011). This study supports this practice.…”

“…Some studies may include care recipients with chronic illnesses such as Parkinson’s disease, heart conditions, or dementia in a single sample (e.g., Piercy, 2007). Others may focus solely on dementia (e.g., Celdrán et al, 2009; Celdrán, Triadó, & Villar, 2011; Creasey & Jarvis, 1989; Creasey, Myers, Epperson, & Taylor, 1989) and several do not specify the type of illness (e.g., Dellmann-Jenkins & Brittain, 2003; Shifren, 2008). However, failing to distinguish between different types of illness makes it difficult to interpret results.…”

“…AD is an illness that will progress over many years, in some cases, for the entire childhood and adolescence of grandchildren. The chronic behavioral disturbances AD patients exhibit, the high level of care they require, and the extended duration of the caregiver role make it an especially difficult disease for a family to manage and it will touch members throughout the family system (Celdrán et al, 2009, 2011; Creasey et al, 1989; Creasey & Jarvis, 1989). To best understand the young caregiver role in these families, it is critical that studies consider the wider family ecology of caregiving.…”

The experiences of grandchildren who provide care for a grandparent with dementia: A systematic review

“…Nevertheless, a limitation of the qualitative study by Howard and Singleton (2001) was that three of six participants were sisters within the same family. Four of the 12 studies were conducted by the same authors, and the data were extracted from a larger research project using the same sample (Celdrán et al, 2009(Celdrán et al, , 2011(Celdrán et al, , 2012(Celdrán et al, , 2014. These researchers predominantly used researcher-developed items, and the sentence completion items utilised by researchers limited the qualitative data gathered.…”

“…The studies were published between 1989 and 2019. Four studies adopted a qualitative design (Celdrán et al, 2014;Howard & Singleton, 2001;Miron et al, 2019;Szinovacz, 2003), two used a quantitative non-randomised design Werner & Lowenstein, 2001), three used a quantitative descriptive design (Creasey & Jarvis, 1989;Hamill, 2012;Huvent-Grelle et al, 2016) and three adopted a mixed method design (Celdrán et al, 2009(Celdrán et al, , 2011(Celdrán et al, , 2012. Participants were recruited from Spain, United States of America (USA), France and Israel.…”