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Centre for Policy on Ageing | |
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| The role of Panamanian grandmothers in family systems that include grandchildren with disabilities | | Author(s) | Avraham Scherman, Maria S Efthimiadis, J Emmett Gardner |
| Journal title | Educational Gerontology, vol 24, no 3, April/May 1998 |
| Pages | pp 233-246 |
| Keywords | Grandmothers ; Grandchildren ; Physical disabilities ; Family relationships ; Panama. |
| Annotation | With increasing emphasis on identifying support sources when crises occur in the family, grandparents are emerging as having the potential to fulfil this role. In the United States (US), the literature indicates that grandparents are willing to assume an increased role with regard to fostering health, emotional well-being, and developmental needs of their grandchildren. In Panama, grandmothers are living in closer proximity to their families and are more accessible to their grandchild. To investigate whether this result in changes in grandmothers' involvement with a disabled grandchild, this study interviewed 30 grandmothers of grandchildren with disabilities. Results indicated that Panamanian grandmothers were involved in many aspects of care, were not initially informed about the grandchild's condition, expressed sorrow and concerns for the future of their grandchild, and they reported love and affection as the most effective way of reaching the child. On the basis of these results, comparisons were made to grandparents in the US, and factors that influence Panamanian grandmothers' effectiveness are discussed. (AKM). |
| Accession Number | CPA-980811222 A |
| Classmark | SW2: SW5: BN: DS:SJ: 7UP |
Data © Centre for Policy on Ageing |
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| ...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing. |
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