Grandparent support of mothers caring for a child with a disability: Impacts for maternal mental health.
Close daily help from the maternal grandma cuts mom distress when kids are young.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Crettenden et al. (2018) asked moms of young kids with disabilities about stress and help. They used a survey. Moms told who gave daily hands-on help and how low or high their distress felt.
Most help came from the mom’s own mother—her grandma. The team checked if that help linked to lower mom stress.
What they found
Moms felt less upset when their own mother gave close, face-to-face support. The link held steady even when child needs were high.
Help from dads or in-laws did not show the same clear buffer.
How this fits with other research
Chaki et al. (2025) extends this finding. In Bedouin families, grandma support still lifted mom mood, and the better mood then improved child adaptive skills. The chain is grandma → mom → child.
Azad et al. (2013) looked earlier at stress over time. They saw stress stay flat while kids were little. Angela et al. now show grandma help can keep that flat line lower.
Kuhn et al. (2018) seems to clash at first. They found strong support ties did not predict better mom mood—only weak or stressful ties hurt. The gap is age: Angela studied moms of young kids; Jocelyn studied moms of teens. When kids are older, just having people around is not enough; stressful ties matter more.
Why it matters
You can map each mom’s support circle in intake. If her own mom is nearby and willing, invite grandma into training sessions. Show her how to give respite, praise, and concrete help like meals or bedtime routines. One extra ally in the home can drop mom distress enough to make your behavior plan stick.
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Join Free →Ask mom: “Does your mom live close?” If yes, schedule a joint session and teach grandma one targeted skill, like 5-minute play breaks or bedtime routine, this week.
02At a glance
03Original abstract
BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Mothers who are primary carers of children with disabilities experience more mental health problems than mothers of typically developing children. We aimed to update and extend research into mothers' perceptions of grandparent support with care, and impacts for maternal psychological well-being, because although contemporary grandparents live longer they also work longer. METHODS: Surveys were completed by 72 mothers of clients (aged ≤8 years) of an Australian non-government disability agency. Mothers reported levels of practical and emotional support, face-to-face contact, and affectional solidarity with maternal and paternal grandparents. The Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K10) was the dependent variable. RESULTS: Mothers indicated high to very high levels of psychological distress. As in previous comparable surveys, most support was offered by maternal grandmothers who had more contact and closest relationships with mothers. Maternal distress was related to maternal grandmothers' health and relationships with maternal grandfathers. Face-to-face contact and closeness of relationships were strongly linked to provision of support. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: Grandparents are important supports for mothers of children with disabilities: mothers lacking support from their own parents are particularly vulnerable. Clinicians should actively facilitate grandparent involvement, and promote extended family relationships.
Research in developmental disabilities, 2018 · doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2018.02.004