• International Journal of Human Ecology
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.17-30
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• 2016

This study was conducted to make a policy proposal for Korean grandparent-grandchildren families, analyzing what adversities adolescent grandchildren suffer when living in a grandparent-grandchild family, the types of Korean families and how family resilience appears as family power. In order to conduct this study, 20 consenting adolescents were selected for an interview from grandparent-grandchildren families recommended by the U City Healthy Family Support Center. This study suggests the following conclusions. First, we discussed divorce, death, financial bankruptcy related stress, economic difficulties in the present family, accidents involving family members of a grandparent-grandchild family, grandparents' serious disease, death, family conflicts and family comparisons with friends. Second, in the domain of family resilience, desire to maintain the family appeared as a Korean value. In addition, efforts to bond as an emotional family and grandchildren's attitudes of gratitude to grandparents are also expressed. However, family conversation appears weak due to the generation gap between adolescents and grandparents or complications from family stress. Third, the resilience in the family organization appeared weak since there are relatively insufficient socio-economic resources to support the family. This study makes several suggestions for family policies and shows the necessity to develop policies that reflect the needs of grandchildren and grandparents.

• Journal of Family Resource Management and Policy Review
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.83-107
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• 2012

This study analyzed the outcomes of the Healthy Family Support Center's 2011 Pilot Project to support grandparent-grandchild families. This paper applied Frank Fisher's multidimensional evaluation methodology, which includes 4 steps: program verification, situational validation, system vindication and social choice. The major findings and their implications are as follows: the strong points of the pilot project are the characteristics of its services, i.e. sending services, customized services, family-unit services and integrated services. Therefore, it is necessary to train human resources to deliver these services more professionally and to provide comprehensive life-planning. The weak point of the pilot project is its lack of services relating to the self-reliance of the clients. Thus it is necessary to revise the service subsystems to include programs that promote self-support measures.

• Korean Journal of Child Studies
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.175-192
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• 2007

Qualitative research was used to discover factors, relationships, and practices affecting rearing of a grandchild by grandparents. Results showed that the grandparents' motives for rearing a grandchild were parental obligation and responsibility, the fate of unavoidable situations, feelings of worth and affection, helping household economy, and absence of another reliable place for child-rearing. Grandchild-rearing roles included substitute mother, disciplinarian, and playmate. Grandchild-rearing difficulties included such psychological problems as insufficient time for their own selves, concern that they might also raise another grandchild, conflicts with family members, economic problems, and physical problems such as grandparents' worsening health conditions, double pressures of housework and childcare, and stress from loss of memory and fatigue.

• Korean Journal of Social Welfare Studies
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• v.42 no.3
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• pp.33-56
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• 2011

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of grandparenting on the grandparent's level of depression. In addition, it is to test the mediating effect of social support and the moderating effect of household type on the relationships between variables. The 555 grandparent sample in this study was from the Korean Longitudinal Study of Aging(KLoSA). The findings indicated that grandparenting(grandparenting time per day and total weeks of grandparenting per year) was significantly related to the grandparent's level of depression. In addition, the grandparent's age was also associated with grandparenting, grandparent's depression, and social support. Grandparent's health condition and marital status was associated with social support. Grandparent's gender had a significant relationship with grandparent's depression and grandparenting time per day. Social support had a direct effect to the grandparent's depression; however, it was not a statistically significant mediator between grandparenting and grandparent's depression. In addition, household type was not a significant moderator of measuring the relationships among grandparenting, grandparent's depression, and social support. Implications for social work practice were discussed based on the result of the study.

• The Korean Journal of Community Living Science
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.419-439
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• 2012

Family dissolution and economic difficulties of the grandchild's parents are the most prevailing reason for an increase of grandparent-headed families in rural Korea. However, there is a lack of empirical research looking at the experiences of custodial grandmothers, social support, and their psychological well-being. In this regard, this study examined the effect of social support (formal & informal) on the psychological well-being of custodial grandmothers in rural Korea. For this purpose, quantitative and qualitative research methods were conducted. Quantitative data were gathered, using structured questionnaire, from 311 grandmothers who were raising their grandchildren in rural Korea as primary care-givers. Statistical methods used for data analysis were descriptive statistics and hierarchical regression analysis with SPSS WIN 19.0 programs. Qualitative data were collected by in-depth interviews to 10 custodial grandmothers in rural area. The results of this study are as follows. First, almost half of the parents of the grandchild didn't visit and didn't call anymore. Some relatives -aunt, uncle, etc.- support the grandparent-headed family economically and emotionally. 3/4 of the grandparent-headed families were supported by the government and community. This was not small numbers, but the amount of economic support was low. Second, grandmothers in the study showed quite a high level of depression while their happiness level was relatively low. There were differences in the factors influencing the level of happiness/depression of these rural grandmothers. Overall, the study's results showed the importance of formal & informal support for psychological well-being of the custodial grandmothers in rural Korea. Policy and theoretical implications are discussed.

• Journal of Families and Better Life
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• v.23 no.4 s.76
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• pp.55-65
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• 2005

Although increasing number of children are being raised by grandparents these days, little research exists on the development of the children in this arrangement. This study aimed at examining school adjustment of the children raised by grandparents, by comparing academic achievement and general classroom and school behaviors of the children in grandparent families with those of their peers from other types of families such as two-parents, single parent, kinship and institution care, and single parent with grandparent(s). Three hundred and twenty four 2nd graders md two hundred ninety eight 5th graders were surveyed for this study. It was found that children raised solely by grandparents did quite well, relative to children in traditional families where two parents were present. Children from single-parent families were significantly worse in school achievement and study habits than children in traditional nuclear families. Girls obtained higher scores on school achievement and study habits whereas they showed lower scores on problem behaviors than boys. There was also an interaction effect between family structure and gender of child in school achievement.

• Korean Journal of Human Ecology
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.107-121
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• 2002

The purpose of His research was to investigate the effect of grandchildren's solidarity with their grandparents on their caring attitude for the elderly. The participants were 311 college students in Chollabuk-Do province. Such statistical methods as factor analysis, ANOVA, Duncan's multiple range test, t-Test, pearson's correlation analysis, and multiple regression analysis were performed for this research. The results showed that the solidarity with grandparents was significantly different according to the college grade, birth order, mother's and grandparents' educational levels, economic status of grandparent, relationship with parents, and grandparents' ages. It was also found that there were significant differences in the levels of grandchildren's caring attitude for the elderly according to the college grade, occupational status of mother, relationship with parent, parents' educational levels, and family atmosphere. Finally, multiple regression analysis results indicated that grandchildren's caring attitude for the elderly was significantly influenced by grandchildren's affectional and contact solidarity with grandparents, relationship with parent, and grandparents' economic status.

• Journal of the Korean Home Economics Association
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.303-314
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• 1996

The purpose of this study is to investigate the satisfaction with sharing a bedroom among grandparent(s) and grandchildren, and the differences in the housing norms and satisfactions among the three generations of the extended families in Cheong-Ju city. Each three generations of the 50 extended families was interviewed with the questionnaire designed for each generation. The respondent family had at lest one child aged from 10 to 14 years old. The results showed that 40.0% of the elderly parents and 76.0% of the grandchildren shared a bedroom with someone beside a spouse, while about 90.0% of married couples had their own bedrooms. However, sharing a bedroom did not reduce the housing satisfaction of the grandparent(s) and the grandchild. The living arrangement of coresidence was mostly preferred by the grandparents, followed by the parents. The younger generations reported the more alternatives in living arrangement for the elderly. The number of bedrooms was the most important factor to be considered with coresidence of three generations but the most inadequate characteristics of the current housing to coreside. There were some differences in elderly housing norms and coresidence housing satisfactions among the three generations. The grandparents were most satisfied with coresidence living arragement, followed by the grandchildren and the daughters-in-law.

• Korean Journal of Child Studies
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• v.38 no.1
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• pp.185-203
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• 2017

Objective: The present study examined the perspectives of grandparents raising their grandchildren in an attempt to better understand grandparents' child-rearing experience while providing kinship foster care to their primary-grade grandchildren. Methods: Data were collected through individual in-depth interviews with eight grandparents who have raised one or two primary-grade (ages 8-10) grandchildren using a qualitative approach. Results: First, the participants viewed the reason for their kinship foster care as a failure for caring for their own children and accepted the present grandparent-care provision as their responsibility. Second, the participants communicated constant struggles with their own health and grandchild-care as well as positive/negative emotions associated with the care provision. Third, most of the participants did not fully understand the developmental needs of their primary-grade grandchildren. Fourth, the participants articulated concerns for their primary-grade grandchildren's learning, peer interactions, school adjustment, and extra-curricular activities. Lastly, the participants all agreed on hoping to raise grandchildren with good personality traits as members of a society and to have them fill the gap from the loss of their parents. Conclusion: Although most participants accepted the current circumstances as their obligation, they still noted difficulties in child-care provision. Given the developmental needs of grandchildren and the resource needs of grandparents, proper and continuous intervention approaches should be developed/provided.

• 한국노년학
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• v.41 no.4
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• pp.587-609
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• 2021

The purpose of this study was to investigate parenting experiences among grandmothers raising their grandchildren from grandmothers' perspective, and a variety of their physical health, psychological and social challenges they were facing in everyday life. In addition, this study explored new issues, changes, and difficulties grandparents and their grandchildren were going through during the COVID-19 pandemic. Seven grandmothers raising their grandchildren without their cohabiting parents participated in an in-depth interview, and the qualitative date were obtained using semi-structured questionnaires. Analyses identified 5 main categories: 1) my emotion, worries, and coping with parenting grandchildren, 2) difficulties and obstacles facing in real life of the parenting, 3) conflicts and coping with growing grandchildren who showed new characters, 4) relationships and emotions among grandparents, parents, and grandchildren, and 5) needs and desires toward social services and support. Sixteen themes and 60 sub-themes were also derived. The majority of grandmothers expressed diverse difficulties in their dail y lives including ambivalent emotions regarding grandchild-rearing(rewards and burden), economic hardships, physical health limitations, and a lack of communications with their grandchildren. Further, findings indicated profound generation conflicts which had been even deepened during school close period in COVID-19 pandemic and had been associated with increased hours of using internet and playing computer games. The top priority of the social service needs among interviewed grandmothers was learning support for their grandchildren. Emotional support and social support to cover their lack of family interactions, and financial support were the next of their desired social services. Implications to improve social services for grandparent-headed families are discussed.