Adolescent Mothers' Relationships With Their Mothers: Communication, Support and Shared Caregiving

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.

Name thesis:degree_name

Ph.D.

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Social Work

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2015

Author dc:creator

• Mulder, Cray

Contributors dc:contributor

• Steve Anderson

• Sociology, Individual and Family Studies

Language dc:language

eng

Identifier

(MiAaPQ)AAI3363135

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/87336