Adolescent Mothers' Relationships With Their Mothers: Communication, Support and Shared Caregiving
Mulder, Cray
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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/87336
Description
Title
Adolescent Mothers' Relationships With Their Mothers: Communication, Support and Shared Caregiving
Author(s)
Mulder, Cray
Issue Date
2009
Doctoral Committee Chair(s)
Steve Anderson
Department of Study
Social Work
Discipline
Social Work
Degree Granting Institution
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Degree Name
Ph.D.
Degree Level
Dissertation
Keyword(s)
Sociology, Individual and Family Studies
Language
eng
Abstract
Participants included twenty-six pairs of cohabitating adolescent mothers and their mothers, referred to as grandmothers. Mothers and grandmothers reported increased communication, with a focus on the grandchildren and parenting after the mother's initiation of parenting. Grandmothers also wanted to prepare mothers for independence and self-sufficiency through direct teaching and dialogue. Adolescent mothers relied on the grandmothers for financial, material and parenting support. Mothers and grandmothers accessed some formal services; usually services centered on parenting were the most highly regarded. Members of the working poor expressed frustration with rigid eligibility criteria and denial of services, especially for financial and material assistance. In response to caregiving, grandmother involvement ranged from minimal physical caregiving to a level of involvement approaching that of a co-parent. Given the relatively young ages of grandmothers in the sample, grandmothers in their forties expressed role enhancement in grandmotherhood via their activity levels and involvement with their grandchildren. This research offered increased insight into the experiences of three generational households, augmented by the inclusion of both mothers and grandmothers.
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