Journal of Aging Studies 15 (2001) 1 11

The ``grands and greats'' of very old black grandmothers

Barbara M. Barer
Medical Anthropology Program, University of California, San Francisco, 3333 California Street, Suite 485, San Francisco, CA 94143-0850, USA

Abstract This paper examines the grandparent role among 96 black women 85 years of age and older, living in the San Francisco Bay Area. Just over one half have grandchildren and great grandchildren. Most often, grandchildren were referred to generically and not singled out by name and personal characteristics. Some had at least one grandchild with whom they were particularly close. Here, we explore what factors contribute to closeness and what conditions create constraints. Aside from the physical limitations of those in advanced old age, impediments to intergenerational relationships include social changes such as age segregation, entitlement programs for the aged, and the generation gap. Despite these constraints, most grandmothers experienced social and emotional rewards from their children's children. Close relationships are enhanced by proximity, frequency of contact, mutual support, and a past history of surrogate parenting. D 2001 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction The study of grandparenthood among African Americans has had a relatively narrow focus in recent years, concentrating on the grandmother's role as a surrogate parent to her grandchildren (Minkler, Roe, & Price, 1992). This paper goes beyond that concentration, to explore the role of very old black grandmothers who are in their late eighties and nineties. Their relationships with their grandchildren, great grandchildren, and great great grandchildren vary widely, ranging from closeness to a particular individual, to distant relationships. Some know only the numbers of grandchildren, but not their names. Such diverse reports led us to explore what conditions create constraints and what factors contribute to closeness in these multigenerational family relationships. Generally, these women in advanced old age are found to be quite remote from their descending generations, yet as the following will illustrate, they take pride in their large number.

0890-4065/01/$ see front matter D 2001 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved. PII: S 0 8 9 0 - 4 0 6 5 ( 0 0 ) 0 0 0 1 3 - X

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2. Background Empirical research on black grandparenting has been dominated by a social problems focus and how black grandmothers ameliorate family crises (Hunter & Taylor, 1998). Black grandmothers as surrogate parents have become a subject of study particularly in their care of crack cocaine babies (Burton, 1992; Fuller-Thomson, Minkler, & Driver, 1997; Minkler & Roe, 1996; Minkler et al., 1992). Similarly, coresidential grandparenting among African Americans has been fairly extensively investigated in situations of adolescent motherhood and parental crises such as illness, drugs, or incarceration (Hunter & Taylor, 1998). The media even refer to some grandparents as ``silent saviors,'' or the ``second line of defense'' (Jendreck, 1993). Studies devoted to black grandparents performing other family roles are few in number. Nevertheless, black grandmothers are commonly romanticized as the family matriarch, linchpin, kinkeeper, or ``the guardian of the generations'' (Burton & Bengston, 1985; Frazier, 1939; Hunter & Taylor, 1998). They also are portrayed as persons of ``action, involvement, hope, and dignity,'' women who are rarely passive but rather are ``authoritative'' or ``influential'' (Cherlin & Furstenberg, 1986; Kornhaber, 1985). Contemporary social researchers recognize that black grandparenthood is in transition because of shifts in mortality, fertility, and diversity in off-time childbearing (Burton & Dilworth-Anderson, 1991). Little is really known about African American grandparenthood beyond the fact that they provide various types of assistance when needed (Szinovacz, 1998). Even less is known about great grandparents. Their position in the family is usually overshadowed by the functions that grandparents perform, leaving a nondescript and tenuous role for the oldest generation (Hunter & Taylor, 1998). In fact, the prevalence of great grandparenthood is quite unprecedented, so that there are no ascribed rights or duties associated with the role. While Uhlenberg and Hammil (1998) delineated the important predictors of contact between generations, their analysis omitted consideration of the grandparent's age or numbers of great grandchildren. Burton and Bengston (1985) in a study on the timing of black grandparenting did incorporate great grandmothers, but their age of becoming a great grandmother ranged from 41 to 70. They found that two main issues for the youngest great grandmothers centered on acquiring an ``old age'' role at a relatively young age, and suffering from an overload of competing commitments. At the other end of the spectrum are the very old, 85 years of age and older, who are quite unlike the ``young'' or ``young old'' black great grandmothers. Some researchers have suggested that grandmothers in advanced age may be too many years removed from their grandchildren or great grandchildren to provide or receive instrumental or expressive supports from them (Martin & Martin, 1978; Shimkin, Shimkin, & Frate, 1978). Great grandparents' relationships to their descendants is mediated through two generations rather than one, which adds a further complication (Hunter & Taylor, 1998). By the time grandmothers reach their late eighties, they are no longer part of the ``sandwich generation,'' but rather are the ``dessert,'' with no competing demands. In their later years, great grandmothers may be ready to relinquish the grandparenting role, feeling too old to provide kin keeping and material assistance (Martin & Martin, 1978).

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Those in advanced old age may face impediments to intergenerational relationships because of the increase in age segregation in our society (Uhlenberg & Hammil, 1998). Entitlement programs for the elderly, such as social security benefits, alleviate family obligations between generations. Additionally, the availability of senior housing in urban areas eliminates the need for extended family living arrangements, and family solidarity diminishes when aged family members live alone (Martin & Martin, 1978). However, these government provisions allow the oldest generation to be economically independent from their families. 3. The study This article stems from a larger longitudinal study of adaptation among the oldest old. Respondents included 150 white individuals, and 122 African Americans, aged 85 and older who were mentally alert and noninstitutionalized. Both samples were collected from public voting records in the urban centers of San Francisco and Oakland, CA. The voting records include date of birth and usually current addresses to facilitate locating respondents. In addition, a snowballing technique was used where respondents secured from the voting records referred us to their age peers. Since blacks, 85 years and older, comprise a very small proportion of the local population, we encountered some difficulty in locating sufficient numbers using only voting records. Thus, it became necessary to also secure names from a local health clinic serving the general population. In total, 34% of our black sample came from voting records, 32% were randomly selected from the health clinic, and 34% were secured through snowball techniques. Letters were sent to prospective respondents, followed by a telephone call to schedule an interview. Of those contacted who were judged competent enough to be interviewed, 24% refused. Competency to participate in an interview was established by asking potential respondents to confirm their age, date of interview, address, and telephone number. 4. Data collection Interviews lasting 23 hours were held in the respondents' homes and conducted in either one or two sittings. The interviews with the African American sample took place over a 6-year period, at 14- to 16-month intervals. This article stems from data collected at Time One. A focussed interview technique was used, one that combined both open-ended, structured questioning, and some standard instruments. This technique, developed by Merton, Fiske, and Kendall (1956), permits hypotheses and research questions to be generated from specific situations. Interviews elicit data on the respondents' reported behaviors, their interpretations of their own behaviors and those of family members, and their evaluation and expectations of family relations. Such a technique under skilled interviewers can produce an in-depth understanding of the social and cultural contexts of family life. Interviewers followed the conventions of ordinary social interactions, so

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respondents, if they so chose, could determine the course of the discussion. For example, if respondents answering questions on one family relationship switched to a related topic, the interviewer could follow their direction so that the flow of the discussion was not interrupted. If respondents digressed too much, however, they were directed back to the interview questions. To understand more about their families and social networks than is elicited through structured questioning, we asked general questions such as, ``Tell me about your children, your grandchildren, and so on.'' Then we asked what activities they shared, what they talked about with each other, how often they were in contact, what their expectations were and how satisfied they were with those relationships. Verbatim notes were taken and later transcribed by the interviewer. Qualitative data were coded by two members of the research staff, with a mean reliability of 81%. 5. Sample characteristics The family relationships and expectations of very old black grandmothers differ from younger women who may be acting as surrogate parents. Tables 1 and 2 include the characteristics and family status of the total sample of 96 black women in the study, at the time of the first interview. The mean age at the first contact was over 88 years. Table 1 describes their socioeconomic and health status. Among this cohort, educational and occupational status is low. Seventy-six percent did not complete high school and 54% had less than 8 years of schooling. In their previous work, 68% worked at the lowest rungs of the occupational ladder, predominantly doing unskilled or semiskilled labor. Only 15% had had white-collar jobs. Nevertheless, only 9% perceived their economic situation to be poor. A very high percentage (96%) receives income from social security. With regard to selfperceived health status, 57% report their health to be good or excellent. Most (79%) are self sufficient in their Activities of Daily Living, managing their personal care such as hygiene, eating, grooming, and getting around their living space independently. Their greatest limitations occur in their instrumental activities of daily living, tasks such as house cleaning, laundry, grocery shopping, management of money, and monitoring medications. Here, 81% of the sample were disabled on one to four or more activities. Table 2 describes the family status of all 96 women in the sample. The large majority was unmarried and living alone, with 46% in public senior housing. Fifty-two percent had living children. Notably, 48% were childless. Here ``childless'' refers to those who have never had children and those who no longer have any living children. Among the latter (22% of the childless), however, one-half had grandchildren and/or great grandchildren. Those women who had prematurely lost a child, or had outlived an adult child, usually retained a relationship with their late child's children (Johnson & Barer, 1995). In all, 56% of the women in the sample reported having one or more grandchildren and 45% had great grandchildren. Those who had never had a child were asked to identify reasons for their childlessness. Some reported that they had never wanted children, sometimes because of feelings of inadequacy. Some had brief and unsuccessful marriages in their teens and then had foregone marriage altogether. Family instability was also given as a cause. Others had

B.M. Barer / Journal of Aging Studies 15 (2001) 111 Table 1 Socioeconomic/health status of total sample of African American womena

Percentage (%) Education College or more Partial college High school Partial high school Eight years or less Occupation Professional/managerial Lower Professional/managerial Clerical white collar Skilled blue collar Semi-/unskilled Perceived economic adequacy Good Fair Poor Sources of income and benefits Pensions Social Security SSI Savings Investments Work Family Perceived health Excellent Good Fair/poor Activity restriction, ADL No disability One to three disabilities Four or more disabilities Activity restriction, IADL No disability One to three disabilities Four or more disabilities
a

4 7 13 22 54 0 4 11 17 68 31 60 9 34 96 28 9 16 3 7 6 51 43 79 13 8 19 33 48

At time of first interview. n = 96; mean age = 88.2.

spent their childbearing years as live-in domestics and in that capacity, had been ``a baby nurse to white folks.'' Still others maintained that they were too busy to have children,

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Table 2 Family status of total sample of women Marital status Married Not married Living alone Living with others In public senior housing Childless With living child/ren With grandchild(ren) With great grandchild(ren) n = 96; mean age = 88.9. 8% 92% 67% 33% 46% 48% 52% 56% 45%

because they were taking care of younger siblings or their sibling's children. A few reported they were childless because they had had a child at a young age whom they had given to someone else to raise. Finally, as many as 21% of the childless traced their childlessness to health problems or infertility. The large majority of those without children had close relationships with nieces and nephews. (Johnson & Barer, 1995)
Table 3 Family support provisions to women with children With a child living in proximity Instrumental support From a child From a grandchild From a great grandchild Expressive support From a child From a grandchild From a great grandchild Weekly or more contact With a child With a grand or great grandchild Caregiving From a child From a grand or great grandchild Potential caregiving From a child From a grandchild/or great grandchild n = 56. 46% 58% 28% 8% 77% 63% 54% 74% 44% 28% 2% 73% 9%

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Table 3 illustrates the kinds of family support available to their oldest members. Of those with children, almost one-half, 46%, have a child living in proximity. Instrumental supports from a child are provided in 58% of the cases, compared with only 36% from both grandchildren and great grandchildren. There is almost twice as much weekly contact between adult children and their mothers, as there is between grandmothers and grandchildren. At the time of the initial interview, only 28% of the children were caregivers while very few, 2% of the grandchildren or great grandchildren performed that role. The potential for children providing caregiving, if needed, is high, 73%, but only 9% of the grandchildren would be available. Clearly, support diminishes with each descending generation. In contrast, expressive supports were rated high. The emotional quality of relationships with their younger generations was found to be rewarding. For example, ``My great grandson is very good at buying cards to send me. He takes time and reads the card very specially.'' ``I don't suffer from no attention.'' 6. Discussion There was great variation between reports of closeness and those who had no relationship with their children's children. In a qualitative analysis of the interview data, we found both constraints and facilitators to closely knit intergenerational family relationships among these very old black urban grandmothers. 7. Constraints to elderly grandparents First, social changes over the past century include the rise of age-graded housing and community organizations that have led to increased segregation of the old (Shimkin et al., 1978). The availability of public senior housing diminishes the incidence of multigenerational households. Since the physical space allocated in senior housing is small, there is no room to take in family members. In most facilities, regulations also prohibit overnight guests. There are other restrictive factors, such as concern about children creating a disturbance. ``I don't have the great grandchildren over here too often. This is a building of senior citizens and you know how children run up and down. A couple of times they came over and I was afraid they'd get out in the hall and make a lot of noise or get in the elevator.'' Senior housing in urban areas also enables elderly parents to withdraw from disruptive family relationships. ``My daughter's children have problems so I don't have too much to do with them. I don't want stress in my life.'' As a result, in addition to lineal distance, there is increasing physical distance between generations. One 77-year-old woman offered her interpretation of such social changes. ``Used to be that many generations of families lived together. Now they decided to separate families so that older people wouldn't have the responsibility for a full family. They think it's better for them.'' A second constraint is related to economics. Social security benefits allow the elderly to be economically self-sufficient. For example, a respondent explained that with social security

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and subsidized rent, ``I don't have nothing left, but I don't have to ask nobody.'' At the same time, these entitlement programs, which offer financial security, may unfortunately make some elderly vulnerable to unwanted demands from their families. ``Every time I turn, my grandchildren have their hands spread out always asking me for something. The only time my grandson comes round, he wants money.'' ``My little great granddaughter stole money from my purse last time she was here, so I don't let her come no more.'' Thus, because of fears of exploitation, the oldest generation may distance themselves from troublesome descendents. Furthermore, the availability of public support reduces the obligations between adult children and their parents so that the family's responsibility for the older generation may be alleviated. Third, the frequency and ease of geographic mobility in today's society isolates the older generations from their offspring. The geographic dispersion of kin contributes to the break-up of multigenerational households which, in former times, fostered the integration of aged family members. ``It ain't like it used to be. Now everyone's scattered.'' ``I can't say that I know my grandchildren, they're in Texas and I'm here.'' Additionally, divorce can lead to distancing between the generations, particularly for paternal grandparents. ``They don't know you no more, after my daughter-in-law and son broke up.'' Fourth, the very advanced age of the grandmothers in this study can be a deterrent to close relationships. Fifty-one percent of them have outlived one or more of their own children. These very old grandmothers have adult grandchildren many of whom are in their forties and fifties with children in their twenties. ``I don't know much about my grandchildren, they're adults.'' ``We don't get together they work every day.'' These women are so many years removed from their younger generations, that, ``When I was coming up they just began with automobiles. All we had was horse and buggy.'' Or, as another remarked, ``The world changes. They're not made of the same kind of leather that I am.'' Furthermore, ``At this age you can't help but have a lot of relatives, but seems like they all has their own lives.'' ``You know when they get grown up, they just drift off.'' Some remoteness from grandchildren is intentional, and, in some cases, adult children intervene to protect their elderly parents from their grandchildrens' problems. ``If they aren't getting along well, they don't let me know about it.'' As longevity increases, so do multigenerational families, so the oldest old's role is diminished. ``My daughter's oldest daughter's daughter has a 2-year-old baby. He's got five or six grandmothers.'' It is not surprising then, that the next generation of great grandchildren and great great grandchildren are regarded with a certain degree of anonymity. ``I got some but I don't know the names of them,'' ``They tell me I do have some 'greats', I ain't never seen them,'' ``I have some, but I don't know how many,'' ``I got pictures but I haven't seen none of them.'' Generally, these comments are stated unemotionally, the information being accepted as a matter of fact. Memory problems sometimes contribute to some confusion. ``I can't get it straight,'' or ``I can't remember.'' On occasion, distinctions between children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren became blurred. Fifth, women in advanced old age also have physical limitations, which restrict their ability to interact with family. Limited mobility and lack of energy often make it ``too hard to get around.'' Chronic health conditions are also confining, making social interaction difficult. Consequently, the role of family matriarch is readily relinquished. ``I used to make it my business to all get together, now I don't bother.''

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8. Facilitators In spite of these restraints, respondents express great pride in their longevity and in the numbers of ``grands, greats, and great greats.'' ``There's too many to count. I'm the last link of the old folks on either side.'' ``I have five generations living. I have greats and great great grandchildren from college age down to three and four.'' Several grandmothers counted off their offspring numerically, such as ``I have 49 grandchildren and 30 greats; 26 grandchildren and 28 greats. I have 25 grandchildren, 40 great grandchildren, and 12 great greats.'' Or, quite simply, ``I'm a six times great great grandmother. I have bushels of family. My birthday is like a convention.'' While many of these very old grandmothers spoke generally about their younger generations as a group, some women did report having a special relationship with a particular grandchild. In such cases, they would single out one grandchild, often a first born, with whom they maintained a close relationship or whom they claimed to be a favorite. As the statistics indicate, over three quarters of the grandmothers receive expressive rewards from their role, and from close, loving, supportive relationships between the generations. Such relationships are facilitated by proximity, frequent contact, the provision of mutual supports, and a past history of surrogate parenting. First, the opportunity for closeness and frequent contact is much enhanced by proximity. For example, ``We all go to the same church every Sunday.'' ``My grandchildren come by every morning.'' ``I'm closest to my youngest grandson. He checks on me every day. If he don't come, he calls.'' Instrumental supports from grandchildren also foster attachment. ``My granddaughter comes by and helps me with things.'' ``My grandson, that's a number one boy. He cleans, takes me to the doctor. If I need something, he picks it up. Some of my other grandsons aren't too strong they go off drinking.'' Second, in some families, grandchildren fulfill filial responsibilities. ``I took care of my granddaughter until she was 11, then she went with her mother. Now she has two boys. She'll do more for me than my children.'' When a grandmother raises or helps to raise a grandchild, the attachment established at an earlier age can persist throughout life. ``I'm closest to my daughter's children because I helped raise them.'' These women, who are now in their late eighties and nineties, have been grandmothers for 40 years or more. Among our sample, 10 women had raised their grandchildren who are now in their forties. ``My oldest granddaughter is 46. I raised her.'' Mrs. M. raised a grandson who is now old enough to have retired. She described her family as follows. ``My son died in 1985 and my daughter died in 1987. I have nine grandchildren. My grandson in Oregon calls me on a monthly basis. He handles my business. I have another grandson, my daughter's child. He was about seven when she died. I reared him until he went into the army. He's retired service now.'' This case illustrates the evolution of her family relationships. With her daughter's untimely death, Mrs. M. assumed the role of surrogate parent to her grandson, thus, fostering a lifelong closeness from an early age. Now, in her old age, her middle-aged grandchildren substitute for the loss of her own children by providing filial supports to her. Nine grandmothers in the study still provide help with after school child care for great grandchildren, housing for a grandchild, or some financial support. ``One of my greats stayed

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with me for about a year. Now he's back with his mother.'' ``My granddaughter's always turning to me to keep her little son.'' Another situation depicts the strains, but also the pride felt by 91-year-old Mrs. B. who intervened in the life of her grandson. Upon the sudden accidental death of her son, she fought for the future well-being of her young grandson, whose mother was incompetent. Ultimately, she won custody of the 7-year-old boy.
When I went to court, they said I was too old. But he's my grandson and I'm going to make sure he gets to go places and do things. His mama don't seem to be able to get herself together. I just don't understand. She doesn't give any money for him, but just makes him promises. The judge finally awarded me guardian. You accept what you have and you deal with it. I haven't done much in the last 6 months but take care of Willis. Today he didn't go to school. He didn't want to get dressed to go. I worry about him. I can't go like I used to. If something happens to me, I don't know who will take care of him. I have three trusts set up for him, one when he turns 18, one when he's 21 and the third when he's 25. I figure by the time he is 25 he should have a mind by that time.

With her own chronic pain from arthritis and the stress of caring for a young child, Mrs. B. appeared frail and worn. Clearly, two lives are at risk here.

9. Conclusion To date, two major themes have dominated the literature on black grandmothers. One has a social problem focus, depicting the black grandmother as the family savior, assuming a custodial role as surrogate parent to crack cocaine babies. The other view romanticizes the black grandmother in the traditional role of the family matriarch and kinkeeper. Scant attention has been paid to the family relationships of great grandmothers. With increased longevity, unprecedented numbers of individuals are living to an advanced old age and their role in the family is ambiguous. The grandparent role is commonly usurped by the intervening parent generation. Additionally, the increased age segregation characteristic of contemporary society creates both a physical and emotional distance between generations. Women in their late eighties and nineties may be several generations removed from their youngest family members. Furthermore, they often suffer from their own infirmities, which limit their potential for involvement. Nevertheless, the findings from this study indicate that these very old black grandmothers experienced emotional benefits from their descending generations and took great pride in their numbers. In summary, several barriers to close relationships between the young and the very old have been noted in the literature. Specifically, these are the impact of age segregation in our society, the generation gap, the declining physical condition of the very old, and the lack of a normative role for great grandparents. Despite such impediments, close intergenerational relationships and emotional benefits can be maintained well into advanced old age. Proximity, reciprocity, and expressive supports all contribute to enhanced family relationships. Finally, questions raised by this exploration have led us on to our next and current research to investigate the diversity in the extended families of middle-aged and older black

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Americans, looking, for example, at questions of filial obligations, norms of responsibility and exchange, and variations in families with older generations. Acknowledgments This work stems from the research funded by the National Institute on Aging, R37 AG06559. The author thanks Dr. Colleen Johnson for her helpful comments. References
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