Grandmothers' Experience of Child Care with Grandchildren: A Grounded Theory Approach

손자녀를 돌보는 외할머니의 양육경험: 근거이론적 접근

Purpose: This study examined grandmothers' experience of child care with grandchildren to understand how it affects their stage of life based on the methodology of grounded theory. Methods: This study used grounded theory, a method of qualitative study, as the theoretical foundation. The subjects of this study were 10 grandmothers who have reared their grandchildren for at least 6 months and volunteered to participate in the study after listening to an explanation. Resources were collected through in-depth interviews and the interviews were recorded and dictated. Results: The core category of participants in this study was "solidifying the family relationship". There were five steps in the process of "solidifying the family relationship". The first step of process was "affection motion" of rearing to help their daughters. The second step was "conflict" due to physical constraint and burden of child care. The third step was "acceptance" based on compensation and support and the fourth step was "development" in search of their ego. The last step was "integration" of family relationship. Conclusion: This study provided basic data for appropriate nursing intervention to grandmother to care for their grandchildren according to the five steps of grandmother's child care experience process.