Parker Erin M, Short Susan E
Brown University Department of Sociology
J Fam Issues. 2009 Jun 30;30(6):813-836. doi: 10.1177/0192513X09331921. Epub 2009 Mar 20.
The HIV/AIDS pandemic in sub-Saharan Africa has brought renewed attention to the role of grandmothers as caregivers of children. Using 2004 DHS data, we examine the relationship between co-residence with a grandmother and child schooling in Lesotho, a country with one of the highest rates of HIV infection. Results confirm the critical role grandmothers play in the event of maternal death. Maternal orphans who live with a grandmother are just as likely to be in school as children living with a mother. The protective effect of living with a grandmother is also important for children whose mothers are alive but not affiliated with their households. The results of the analysis underscore the importance of attending to the simultaneous presence of mothers and grandmothers, as well as the circumstances associated with mother absence, when assessing the relationship between grandmother co-residence and child outcomes.
撒哈拉以南非洲地区的艾滋病毒/艾滋病大流行，使人们再次关注祖母作为儿童照料者所发挥的作用。我们利用2004年人口与健康调查（DHS）的数据，研究了在莱索托这个艾滋病毒感染率极高的国家，与祖母同住与儿童上学之间的关系。研究结果证实了祖母在母亲去世情况下所发挥的关键作用。与祖母同住的母亲遗孤上学的可能性与与母亲同住的孩子相同。对于那些母亲尚在人世但与家庭没有联系的孩子来说，与祖母同住的保护作用也很重要。分析结果强调了在评估与祖母同住和儿童成长结果之间的关系时，关注母亲和祖母同时存在的情况以及与母亲缺席相关的情形的重要性。
