The impact of a residential camp on grandchildren raised by grandparents: Grandparents’ perspectives

J. Dare, R. Marquis, E. Wenden, S. Gopi and D.A. Coall

Children and Youth Services Review, 2020, vol. 108, issue C

Abstract: This research aimed to investigate grandparents’ perspectives on the impact of Leadership and Respite Camps, designed for children being raised by their grandparents, on their grandchildren. In-depth interviews were conducted with 34 grandparents whose grandchildren had participated in 1 of 3 camps held between September 2018 and January 2019, in Perth and the south-west of Western Australia. Findings highlighted how grandcarers’ perceived the camps created unique opportunities for grandchildren to share their experiences in a safe and supportive environment. Grandparents reported significant psychosocial benefits to their grandchild, including feeling they fitted in with their peers and were not alone in experiencing a difficult childhood and adolescence; gaining perspective on their situation and developing a new appreciation for their grandparents; being able to emotionally ‘unblock’ traumatic memories through the sharing of experiences in a safe and supportive camp environment; developing resilience, confidence and self-esteem through participation in challenging activities; and making new friendships. This research provides strong evidence that Leadership and Respite Camps designed for grandchildren being raised by their grandparents deliver significant psychosocial benefits to grandchildren, and offers a solid foundation to advocate for regular camps to address the needs of grandparent-led families.

Keywords: Grandparents; Grandchildren; Kinship care; Respite camp; Caregiving; Resilience (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0190740919306620
Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:cysrev:v:108:y:2020:i:c:s0190740919306620

DOI: 10.1016/j.childyouth.2019.104535

Access Statistics for this article

Children and Youth Services Review is currently edited by Duncan Lindsey

More articles in Children and Youth Services Review from Elsevier
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Catherine Liu ().