STRENGTHS AND NEEDS OF WORKING-CLASS AFRICAN-AMERICAN AND ANGLO-AMERICAN GRANDPARENTS

This study examined gender and racial differences in the grandparentin g strengths and needs of working class grandparents. A total of 192 Af rican-American and Angle-American grandmothers and grandfathers from t he Washington, D.C. metropolitan area were administered the Grandparen t Strengths and Needs Inventory. Grandmothers perceived themselves to be significantly more involved in teaching their grandchildren and sig nificantly more successful in the grandparent role than grandfathers. African-American grandparents perceived themselves to be significantly more involved in teaching their grandchildren than Angle-American gra ndparents, but were also significantly more likely than their Angle-Am erican counterparts to express frustration and need for information ab out the grandparenting role. A significantly greater percentage of Afr ican-American grandparents expressed interest in taking a grandparent education course than Angle-American grandparents. Implications of the findings for grandparent education are discussed.