Grandparents Raising Grandchildren: Potential for Reducing Parenting Stress Through the STEP Parent Training Program

This dissertation is an exploratory study that examines the stress of grandparents raising their grandchildren, and the potential benefits of parenting classes. Grandparents involved with the City of Hartford Grandparent Program received seven weeks of the STEP parent education curriculum in addition to two initial introductory classes. Baseline, follow-up, and one month follow-up data were collected using self report measures. T-tests and correlation analyses were run to explore changes in parenting stress. Subjects showed a decrease in clinically significant levels of stress following the intervention; some of these changes were maintained at one month follow-up. Attendance was a significant variable. Anecdotal reports from the grandmothers were discussed. Limitations such as small sample size and lack of control group are discussed within the context of these results.