CUSTODIAL GRANDFAMILIES: SYSTEMIC INEQUITIES, CULTURAL RESILIENCE, AND TRAUMA-INFORMED INTERVENTIONS - Interest Group Sponsored Symposium

Sep 28, 2026

Uploaded by Eliana

Custodial grandparents experience intersecting systemic, cultural, and psychological challenges that demand culturally responsive, equity-driven interventions. This symposium integrates four studies to advance research and practice: preferences for trauma-informed parenting interventions with emphasis on relational skills and accessibility; rural–urban disparities in social determinants of health and neighborhood built environments; cross-cultural role theory explaining how caregiving norms shape role conformity or conflict while sustaining resilience during the pandemic; and a finding that among ethno-racially marginalized grandparents, resilience predicts more frequent prospective memory failures. The talks synthesize trauma-responsive, humility-based, strengths-focused approaches and call for policies bridging evidence with lived realities, prioritizing accessibility and multi-level support.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryHealthcare

FormatPDF

Pages1

Reading Time3 min

AccessFree to download

Grandparents as Caregivers Interest Group Sponsored Symposium

Symposium focus and rationale

Integrated studies and key findings

Intervention and policy implications

264 Innovation in Aging, 2025, Vol. 9, No. S2 relationship potentially explained by heightened cognitive load. However, physical activity mediates this pathway, reducing failures among grandparents with strong ethnic identity resolution (commitment to one’s identity). Collectively, these talks highlight: 1. The need for trauma-responsive interventions addressing systemic barriers (e.g., rural service gaps, legal advocacy); 2. Cultural humility in designing supports (e.g., role expectations in collectivist vs. individualist contexts); 3. Strengths-based approaches that leverage grandparents’ resilience and racial/ethnic identity while mitigating structural inequities. The symposium calls for policies and programs that bridge gaps between evidence-based practices and the lived realities of custodial grandfamilies, prioritizing accessibility, identity affirmation, and multi-level support systems. Grandparents as Caregivers Interest Group Sponsored Symposium SESSION 2340 (SYMPOSIUM) Abstract citation ID: igaf122.885 CUSTODIAL GRANDFAMILIES: SYSTEMIC INEQUITIES, CULTURAL RESILIENCE, AND TRAUMA-INFORMED INTERVENTIONS Chair: Danielle Nadorff Discussant: Deborah Whitley Custodial grandparents face intersecting systemic, cultural, and psychological challenges that require culturally responsive, equity-driven interventions. This symposium integrates four studies to advance research and practice. First, a mixed-methods study (Shillingsburg) identifies custodial grandparents’ preferences for trauma-informed parenting interventions (e.g., PC-Care), emphasizing relational skill-building and accessibility. Second, Littleton’s analysis of National Survey of Children’s Health data reveals rural-urban disparities in social determinants of health, with rural grandparents disproportionately facing barriers in neighborhood built environments. Third, a cross-cultural phenomenological study (Lee & Mendoza) compares Korean and U.S. grandparents through role theory, demonstrating how cultural norms shape caregiving experiences: Korean grandparents report role conformity and U.S. grandparents role conflict, yet both groups exhibit resilience during the pandemic. Finally, McLin’s survey of ethno-racially marginalized grandparents uncovers a counterintuitive link between resilience and prospective memory failures (objective lapses in remembering tasks), where resilience directly predicts more frequent failures—a

FAQs

What is the core challenge addressed by the symposium?

Custodial grandparents face intersecting systemic, cultural, and psychological challenges that require culturally responsive, equity-driven interventions.

Which studies are integrated in the symposium and what do they examine?

The symposium integrates four studies: preferences for trauma-informed parenting interventions, rural–urban disparities in social determinants of health, cross-cultural caregiving experiences through role theory, and links between resilience and prospective memory failures.

How do cultural norms influence caregiving experiences in the cross-cultural study?

Korean grandparents report role conformity while U.S. grandparents report role conflict, and both groups show resilience during the pandemic.

What intervention and policy directions does the symposium recommend?

It calls for trauma-responsive interventions to address systemic barriers, cultural humility in designing supports, strengths-based approaches leveraging resilience and identity affirmation, and policies that bridge evidence-based practices with lived realities through accessible, multi-level support systems.

Sep 28, 2026

Uploaded by Eliana