Support and Satisfaction: Perspectives of Older Grandparent Caregivers About Faith-Based Communities.

Older grandparents raising adolescent grandchildren are a hidden caregiving population. Religion serves as a protective factor for many older adult caregivers. The caregiving and religion literature often excludes exploration of caregivers' satisfaction with social support provided by faith-based communities. Nineteen older grandparents raising adolescent grandchildren participated in in-depth qualitative interviews regarding the lived experiences of their social support and satisfaction woth faith-based communities. Research questions were: (1) describe, if any, what types of support you receive from church or religious groups? and (2) how satisfied are you with the support from church or religious groups? The diverse sample of grandparents were White (n = 10), Black/African American (n = 7), Native American (n = 1), and Filipino (n = 1). Respondents were primarily married (58%), white/nonHispanic (53%), grandmothers (84%), with some college education or college graduate (79%). Older grandparent caregivers identified key people, situational circumstances, and tangible goods that enhanced their wellbeing and posed opportunities for more support. Five themes characterizing social support and satisfaction with older grandparent caregivers' perspectives of their faith-based communities were emotional support, activities and resources, stopped attending church, attended church but did not seek support, and mixed satisfaction with religious support. Implications are presented for social work education and social work practice.

Subjective Well-being of Older African Americans with DSM IV Psychiatric Disorders.

This study examined demographic and mental health correlates of subjective well-being (i.e., life satisfaction, happiness) using a national sample of older African Americans with psychiatric disorders. We used a subsample of 185 African Americans, 55 and older with at least one of thirteen lifetime psychiatric disorders from The National Survey of American Life: Coping with Stress in the 21st Century (NSAL). The findings indicated that among this population of older adults who had a lifetime psychiatric disorder, having a lifetime suicidal ideation was associated with life satisfaction but not happiness. Further, having a 12-month anxiety disorder or a lifetime suicidal ideation was not associated with happiness. Having a 12-month mood disorder, however, was negatively associated with an individual's level of happiness, as well as their life satisfaction. Additionally, there were two significant interactions. Among men, employment was positively associated with life satisfaction, and marriage was associated with higher levels of happiness among men but not women. The overall pattern of findings reflects both similarities and departures from prior research confirming that well-being evaluations are associated with multiple factors.

An exploration of mental health literacy among older African Americans.

The intent of this exploratory descriptive study was to examine mental health literacy (MHL) with 28 African American elders who reside in Kentucky. Collectively, all elders were partially literate of mental disorders and familiar with self-help and professional interventions and Alzheimer's and depression were the most recognized mental disorders. An awareness of MHL is an essential first step to understanding African American elders' views about mental health which then can facilitate the design and development of culturally relevant psychoeducational programs geared to this subset of the aging population.

Changes in Health Perceptions among Older Grandparents Raising Adolescent Grandchildren.

This research study explores health perceptions before and after becoming a primary caregiver among older grandparents raising adolescent grandchildren. Qualitative, in-depth face-to-face interviews were conducted with grandparents age 40 and older (N = 15) who were raising adolescent grandchildren age 12 and older. Most grandparents were female, had some college education, White/Non-Hispanic, were married, had an average age of 65 years, and reported never attending a grandparent support group. Before assuming the primary caregiver role, older grandparents described their physical health as good, filled with physical activity, and reasonably free of health conditions. After entering the primary caregiving role, older grandparents of adolescents described functional restrictions and visible changes in physical health requiring intensive medical interventions. In terms of mental health, older grandparent caregivers experienced anxiety, worry, depression, sadness, and frustration. These findings highlight the complex caregiving circumstances encountered by older grandparents raising adolescents and the need for health education and policy development to increase comprehensive supportive services targeting this population.

Differences between African Americans and Non-Hispanic Whites Utilization of Clergy for Counseling with Serious Personal Problems.

There is a paradox in research on African Americans and non-Hispanic whites in the utilization of clergy. Research finds that African Americans have higher levels of religious service attendance and higher levels of contact with clergy. Research also finds that despite this, African Americans are less likely than non-Hispanic whites to seek out assistance from clergy for psychiatric disorders including depression and anxiety. The goal of this paper was to investigate race differences in the use of clergy for counseling for serious personal problems. It uses the National Survey of American Life. We find that non-Hispanic whites were more likely than African Americans to use clergy for a serious personal problem. The significant difference between African Americans and non-Hispanic whites appeared to be mediated by the fact that African Americans were more likely to have seen clergy in a religious setting and non-Hispanic whites were more likely to have seen clergy in other settings including hospitals.