Workshop on Strengths and Competences to Improve Psychological Wellbeing and Quality of Life of Grandparents
Study Details
Study Description
Brief Summary
Recent social and demographic changes in Western countries have led to a reorganization of the family relationships, such as grandparents-grandchildren bond. The Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) shows, on the one hand, that 52% of grandparents are auxiliary caregivers of their grandchildren and, on the other hand, that more than 15% of grandparents regularly care for their grandchildren, being the Spanish percentage the second highest of Europe. Given these figures, it is clear that many grandparents today are playing an important role as socializing agents for their grandchildren.
According to this, grandparents play their socializing rol by passing on their grandchildren skills, experiences, values, beliefs and affection. This bond not only influences positively on grandchildren, but also on grandparents. Caring for grandchildren allows grandparents to resolve the crises of generativity and integrity of self, included in Erikson's Theory of Psychosocial Development. Moreover, high leves of generativity are related with greater personal growth, one of the dimensions of psychological wellbeing. However, the literature on the socializing rol of grandparents is scarce and has focus on the negative effects of caring for grandchildren. In contrast, recent studies demonstrates that caring for grandchildren has positive effect on grandparents' health and life satisfaction.
Being important to consider the negative consequences of this type of care, is also necessary to develop a new perspective, focus on protective factors of grandparents' psychological wellbeing and quality of life. According to McCubbin's Resilience Model of Family Stress, Adjustment and Adaptation, psychological resources and coping skills could be protective factors, minimizing the impact of caring for grandchildren.
The present project considers two protective factors: personal strengths and emotional competences, variables that are worked on the workshops. By focusing on these aspects, not only an improvement in family relationships (grandparents-parents-grandchildren) is expected, but also an increase in the psychological well-being and quality of life of the participants.
The development of intervention programs aimed at protective factors could be useful for grandparent caregivers, promoting their psychological well-being and quality of life.
| Condition or Disease | Intervention/Treatment | Phase |
|---|---|---|
|
N/A |
Detailed Description
The study intervention consists of a psychoeducational group workshop oriented to grandparents caring for at least one minor grandchild.
The workshop includes 5 sessions and a follow-up call. The duration of the sessions is about 90 minutes. The modality is online.
The sessions and their objectives are detailed below:
- Session 1: Defining my role as a grandparent.
To frame the topic, get to know the participants and build a good group atmosphere.
- Session 2: Deepening my relationships.
To promote participants' confidence as grandparents.
- Session 3: Growing as a grandparent.
To help participants become aware of useful caregiving strategies.
- Session 4: Discovering my emotional world.
To help participants learn about and understand their own emotional world.
- Session 5. Caring for others and caring for me.
To help participants live their role as a grandparent without displacing other vital elements important to them.
- Follow-up. Phone call.
To offer participants a final one-on-one meeting.
Study Design
Arms and Interventions
| Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
|---|---|
| Experimental: Experimental group The experimental group is given the Workshop on Strengths and Competences to Improve Psychological Wellbeing and Quality of Life of Grandparents. |
Behavioral: Psychoeducational Workshop on Personal Strengths and Emotional Competences to Improve the Psychological Wellbeing and Quality of Life of Grandparents Caring for Their Grandchildren
The intervention is a psychoeducational group workshop (6-8 participants). It includes 5 sessions of, approximately, 90 minutes. In addition, 3 months after the end of the workshop, a follow-up call will be organized with the participants. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the workshop will be held online.
The sessions are:
Session 1: Defining my role as grandparent.
Session 2: Deepening my relationships.
Session 3: Growing as grandparent.
Session 4: Discovering my emotional world.
Session 5: Caring for others and caring for myself.
|
| No Intervention: Control group The control group is not given the Workshop on Strengths and Competences to Improve Psychological Wellbeing and Quality of Life of Grandparents. |
Outcome Measures
Primary Outcome Measures
- Grandparents' psychological wellbeing [Through study completion, an average of 2 years]
Psychological wellbeing will be evaluated with Ryff's Psychological Wellbeing Scale. Scale values: 1 (very inadequate to describe me), 2 (quite inadequate to describe me), 3 (some inadequate to describe me), 4 (some adequate to describe me), 5 (quite adequate to describe me), 6 (very adequate to describe me). Interpretation: the higher the score, the greater the psychological wellbeing of the person being assessed.
- Grandparents' quality of life [Through study completion, an average of 2 years]
Quality of life will be evaluated with CASP-12. Scale values: 1 (sometimes), 2, 3, 4 (never). Interpretation: the higher the score, the greater the quality of life of the person being assessed.
- Grandparents' involvement and burnout [Through study completion, an average of 2 years]
Involvement and burnout will be evaluated with Multidimensional Experience of Grandparenthood Set of Inventories. Scale values: 1 (totally disagree), 2, 3, 4, 5 (totally agree). Interpretation: the higher the score, the greater the involvement and burnout of the person being assessed as grandparent.
- Grandparents' emotional competences [Through study completion, an average of 2 years]
Emotional competences will be evaluated with Grandparents Emotional Competency Scale. Scale values: 1 (never), 2 (sometimes), 3 (almost always), 4 (always). Interpretation: the higher the score, the greater the emotional competences of the person being assessed as grandparent.
- Grandparents' character strengths [Through study completion, an average of 2 years]
Character strengths will be evaluated with Psychological Resources Inventory-77 items. Scale values: 0 (totally disagree), 1, 2, 3 (totally agree). Interpretation: the higher the score, the greater the character strengths of the person being assessed.
Eligibility Criteria
Criteria
Inclusion Criteria:
- Being grandparent of, at least, one minor children or adolescent.
Exclusion Criteria:
- Suffer from a disease that makes the person unable to understand the questionnaire (e.g., moderate-severe dementia).
Contacts and Locations
Locations
| Site | City | State | Country | Postal Code | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Pablo CEU University (Campus Montepríncipe) | Alcorcón | Madrid | Spain | 28925 |
Sponsors and Collaborators
- CEU San Pablo University
Investigators
- Principal Investigator: Cristina Noriega García, CEU San Pablo University
Study Documents (Full-Text)
More Information
Publications
- Arpino B, Bordone V, Balbo N. Grandparenting, education and subjective well-being of older Europeans. Eur J Ageing. 2018 Mar 20;15(3):251-263. doi: 10.1007/s10433-018-0467-2. eCollection 2018 Sep.
- Chan, K. L., Chen, M., Lo, K. M. C., Chen, Q., Kelley, S. J., & Ip, P. (2018). The effectiveness of interventions for grandparents raising grandchildren: A meta-analysis. Research on Social Work Practice, 29(6), 1-11. https://doi.org/gf7j
- Diaz D, Rodriguez-Carvajal R, Blanco A, Moreno-Jimenez B, Gallardo I, Valle C, van Dierendonck D. [Spanish adaptation of the Psychological Well-Being Scales (PWBS)]. Psicothema. 2006 Aug;18(3):572-7. Spanish.
- Erikson, E. H. (2000). El ciclo vital completado. Paidós.
- Findler, L., Taubman-Ben-Ari, O., Nuttman-Shwartz, O., & Lazar, R. (2013). Construction and validation of the multidimensional experience of grandparenthood set of inventories. Social Work Research, 37(3), 237-253. https://doi.org/10.1093/swr/svt025
- García, V., & Martínez-González, R. A (2017). Escala de competencias emocionales de abuelos y abuelas (ECEA). Revista Iberoamericana de Diagnóstico y Evaluación, 49(4), 107-120. https://doi.org/10.21865/RIDEP49.4.09
- Goodsell, T. L., Bates, J. S., & Behnke, A. O. (2011). Fatherhood stories: Grandparents, grandchildren, and gender differences. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 28, 134-154. https://doi.org/10.1177/0265407510386447
- Martínez de Serrano, B.A. (2007). Desarrollo y validación de un instrumento para la evaluación de los recursos psicológicos: Inventario de recursos psicológicos-77 ítems (IRP-77). Tesis doctoral publicada, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid.
- McCubbin, M. A. (1993). Family stress theory and the development of nursing knowledge about family adaptation. In S. L. Feetham, S. B. Meister, J. M. Bell, & C. L. Gillis (eds.), The Nursing Family (pp. 46-58). Sage Publications.
- Moore SM, Rosenthal DA. Personal growth, grandmother engagement and satisfaction among non-custodial grandmothers. Aging Ment Health. 2015;19(2):136-43. doi: 10.1080/13607863.2014.920302. Epub 2014 Jun 9.
- Noriega, C., Velasco, C., & López, J. (2020). Perceptions of grandparents' generativity and personal growth in supplementary care providers of middle-aged grandchildren. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 37, 1114-1135. https://doi.org/fvqh
- Park, N., Peterson, C., & Seligman, M. E. P. (2004). Strengths of character and well-being. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 23(5), 603-619. https://doi.org/dg5xc7
- Perez-Rojo G, Martin N, Noriega C, Lopez J. Psychometric properties of the CASP-12 in a Spanish older community dwelling sample. Aging Ment Health. 2018 May;22(5):700-708. doi: 10.1080/13607863.2017.1292208. Epub 2017 Feb 28.
- Peterson, C., & Seligman, M. E. P. (2004). Character strenghts and virtues. Oxford University Press. SHARE (29 de septiembre de 2021). La encuesta de salud, envejecimiento y jubilación en Europa. https://www.share.cemfi.es/index.asp?menu=1
- Sherr, L., Roberts, K. J., Hothi, S., & Balchin, N. (2018). Never too old to learn - parenting interventions for grandparents: A systematic review. Cogent Social Sciences, 4, 1-22. https://doi.org/10.1080/23311886.2018.1508627
- Triadó, C., Villar, F., Celdrán, M., & Solé, C. (2014) Grandparents who provide auxiliary care for their grandchildren: Satisfaction, difficulties, and impact on their health and well-being. Journal of Intergenerational Relationships, 12, 113-127. https://doi.org/10.1080/15350770.2014.901102
- Villar, F. (2012). Successful ageing and development: The contribution of generativity in older age. Ageing and Society, 32, 1087-1105. https://doi.org/fwpm7g
- Zhou J, Mao W, Lee Y, Chi I. The Impact of Caring for Grandchildren on Grandparents' Physical Health Outcomes: The Role of Intergenerational Support. Res Aging. 2017 Jun;39(5):612-634. doi: 10.1177/0164027515623332. Epub 2016 Jan 4.
- M02.0401.000.MPI20CNG