Full Text Available
Note: Clicking the button above will open the full text document at the original institutional repository in a new window.
The needs and challenges of grandmothers as informal primary caregivers of adolescents: social work services needed
Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 2025.
Saved in:
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Other Authors: | |
| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | en_ZA |
| Published: |
Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University
2025
|
| Subjects: | |
| Tags: |
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1867614031271952384 |
|---|---|
| access_status_str | Open Access |
| author | Kolisang, Thato |
| author2 | Strydom, Marianne |
| author_browse | Kolisang, Thato Strydom, Marianne |
| author_facet | Strydom, Marianne Kolisang, Thato |
| author_sort | Kolisang, Thato |
| collection | Thesis |
| dc_rights_str_mv | Stellenbosch University |
| description | Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 2025. |
| format | Thesis |
| id | oai:scholar.sun.ac.za:10019.1/132587 |
| institution | Stellenbosch University (South Africa) |
| language | en_ZA |
| last_indexed | 2026-06-10T12:45:33.890Z |
| license_str | Other — see source repository |
| provenance_str_mv | Harvested via OAI-PMH from SUNScholar — Stellenbosch University Repository |
| publishDate | 2025 |
| publishDateRange | 2025 |
| publishDateSort | 2025 |
| publisher | Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University |
| publisherStr | Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University |
| record_format | dspace |
| source_str | SUNScholar — Stellenbosch University Repository |
| spelling | oai:scholar.sun.ac.za:10019.1/132587 The needs and challenges of grandmothers as informal primary caregivers of adolescents: social work services needed Kolisang, Thato Strydom, Marianne Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of Social Work. Grandmothers -- Social aspects Grandparents as parents Grandparent and child Kinship care Custody of children Social work with youth Caregivers -- Psychological aspects UCTD Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 2025. Kolisang, T. 2025. The needs and challenges of grandmothers as informal primary caregivers of adolescents: Social work services needed. Unpublished masters thesis. Stellenbosch: Stellenbosch University [online]. Available: https://scholar.sun.ac.za/items/bd5b8f90-4ce9-4761-bcf9-5dc970ede3f4 ENGLISH ABSTRACT: In South Africa, many children are being cared for by their grandmothers. This type of care is often not formalised through a court order, as with foster care placement. When biological parents cannot or prefer not to take care of their children due to different reasons, such as poverty, unemployment, teenage pregnancy, substance abuse, abuse, abandonment, or the death of biological parents, children are often being cared for by their grandmothers, especially in rural areas. These arrangements are usually informal, meaning the court or Department of Social Development would not be involved. Because grandmothers often fulfil caring roles for their adolescent grandchildren without support or preparation, they experience emotional, financial, physical, and societal challenges. These challenges vary from struggling to perform household tasks due to their deteriorating physical health to dealing with behavioural issues typically associated with adolescents. This study aimed to investigate and shed light on the needs and challenges of grandmothers caring for adolescent grandchildren in informal care while adding to the limited body of knowledge in the social work field on this topic. The ecological perspective was used as a lens through which the researcher investigated the needs and challenges of grandmothers as informal caregivers of their adolescent grandchildren. Whereas the study used a qualitative approach to capture the participants’ rich accounts of their needs and challenges, descriptive and explorative research designs were used to produce in-depth information and densely detailed accounts of the needs and challenges of grandmothers as primary caregivers of their adolescent grandchildren. Purposive and snowball sampling were utilised to identify 19 study participants, and a semi-structured schedule was then applied to the interviews. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the collected data. The study found that grandmothers caring for their adolescent grandchildren experienced financial-, child-, health- and institutional-related challenges. Participants indicated that their primary source of income was social grants, such as the older person’s grant, the child support grant, and sometimes the foster care grant. However, these were insufficient to meet the needs of their households and grandchildren. Some participants received (inconsistent) financial assistance from their employed children, whereas others earned extra income by sewing clothes and selling traditional beer. The participants indicated that they experienced significant challenges while trying to acquire birth certificates for the grandchildren in their care and that this further exacerbated their challenges. The study also found that grandmothers, as primary caregivers of their grandchildren, had different needs, including financial, material and parenting skills needs. It is recommended that the South African government should take all necessary measures to address challenges experienced by grandmothers who are unofficially taking care of their adolescent grandchildren. It is also recommended that community resources should be available and accessible to these grandmothers to assist them in their tasks and that social services, such as counselling, behavioural modification, and parenting skills programmes, should be offered to grandmothers and their grandchildren. It is further recommended that child welfare organisations, schools, community-based organisations, the Department of Social Development and the Department of Health should collaborate to raise awareness about delivering services to address the plight of, amongst others, grandmothers who are informal caregivers of their adolescent grandchildren. AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Geen opsomming beskikbaar nie. Masters 2025-06-11T10:26:22Z 2025-06-11T10:26:22Z 2025-03 Thesis https://scholar.sun.ac.za/handle/10019.1/132587 en_ZA Stellenbosch University 218 pages application/pdf Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University |
| spellingShingle | Grandmothers -- Social aspects Grandparents as parents Grandparent and child Kinship care Custody of children Social work with youth Caregivers -- Psychological aspects UCTD Kolisang, Thato The needs and challenges of grandmothers as informal primary caregivers of adolescents: social work services needed |
| title | The needs and challenges of grandmothers as informal primary caregivers of adolescents: social work services needed |
| title_full | The needs and challenges of grandmothers as informal primary caregivers of adolescents: social work services needed |
| title_fullStr | The needs and challenges of grandmothers as informal primary caregivers of adolescents: social work services needed |
| title_full_unstemmed | The needs and challenges of grandmothers as informal primary caregivers of adolescents: social work services needed |
| title_short | The needs and challenges of grandmothers as informal primary caregivers of adolescents: social work services needed |
| title_sort | needs and challenges of grandmothers as informal primary caregivers of adolescents social work services needed |
| topic | Grandmothers -- Social aspects Grandparents as parents Grandparent and child Kinship care Custody of children Social work with youth Caregivers -- Psychological aspects UCTD |
| url | https://scholar.sun.ac.za/handle/10019.1/132587 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT kolisangthato theneedsandchallengesofgrandmothersasinformalprimarycaregiversofadolescentssocialworkservicesneeded AT kolisangthato needsandchallengesofgrandmothersasinformalprimarycaregiversofadolescentssocialworkservicesneeded |