Margaret M. Manoogian

The Storied Nature of Health Legacies in the Familial Experience of Type 2 Diabetes

In this study, we position families as pivotal anchors for coping with biophysical and psychosocial needs of members with Type 2 diabetes in two vital ways. First, we present narrative theory as a conceptual framework for moving beyond an individualistic understanding of health and healing. Second, we illustrate the efficacy of this position through an interpretive study of meaning-making about intergenerational diabetes among families living in rural Appalachian areas—contexts historically characterized by disproportionately high rates for numerous diseases including diabetes. Stories elicited from participants during interviews characterized their diabetes health legacies as dense and devastating. Our analysis illustrates how legacies evolve and shift across generations and shape how family members understand and manage diabetes, including the role of family members as intergenerational lynchpins and intergenerational buffers.

MATERNAL GRANDMOTHERS AS CHILD CARE PROVIDERS FOR RURAL, LOW-INCOME MOTHERS: A unique child care arrangement

This qualitative study investigated the experiences of forty-two rural, low-income mothers who utilized their own mothers for routine child care. A life course perspective was used to explore mothers’ perceptions of their child care arrangement and the influence of the adult daughter–older mother relational context. Results focus on the benefits and weaknesses of child care provided by grandmothers and the influence of the relationship between participants and their mothers on this care arrangement. The analysis has implications for research, support programming, and public policy.

“My nest is full:” Intergenerational relationships at midlife

Incorporating a life course perspective, this qualitative study used focus groups to explore the experiences of midlife adults who were simultaneously providing support to emerging adult children and aging parents. Results indicated that adults situated in middle generations held beliefs that endorsed family-based responsibility to both younger and older members. Parents gladly supported children despite their longer transition to adulthood. Often unanticipated but accepted, provisions of care to aging parents were experienced with ambivalence - a joy and a burden. The transition of their parents to greater dependence helped participants gain insights into the terrain of late life and encouraged reflections about the intersection of aging, independence, and family responsibility. Participants expressed intentions to preserve their own independence and spare their children of caregiving burdens through self-directed actions. Implications focused on negotiations of family relationships around issues of independence and family responsibilities as a way to reduce intergenerational ambivalence.

Gender, Genocide, and Ethnicity: The Legacies of Older Armenian American Mothers

Women use legacies to help family members articulate family identity, learn family history, and provide succeeding generations with information about family culture. Using feminist standpoint theory and the life-course perspective, this qualitative study examined the intergenerational transmissions that 30 older Armenian American mothers received and transmitted to succeeding generations within the sociohistorical experience of genocide. Mothers passed on legacies that included family stories, rituals/activities, and possessions. Because of multiple losses during the Armenian Genocide, they emphasized legacies that symbolized connection to family, underscored family cohesion, and accentuated ethnic identity. Tensions were evident as well because womens sense of responsibility for legacies clashed with their limited cultural knowledge, few inherited possessions, and the inevitable assimilation of their children and grandchildren into the dominant U.S. culture.

“My Kids Are More Important Than Money” Parenting Expectations and Commitment Among Appalachian Low-Income Mothers

Focusing on the uncertainty of low-income mothers’ lives, this qualitative study examined the family experiences of 57 Appalachian low-income mothers. With scarce economic resources, mothers forged identities that expressed the centrality of motherhood, concentrated their activities within traditional family expectations, and made decisions that often resisted federal welfare reform expectations for work and family. Work and family policies that acknowledge the commitment of low-income, rural mothers to their children and create supportive employment options for them are needed. Parenting education programs that broaden mothers’ understanding of child discipline are recommended.

“I Don’t Know How We Would Make It”—Social Support in Rural Low-Income Families

This chapter provides an overview of social support in sustaining rural low-income families. Social support is defined and relevant theoretical perspectives are presented. Literature is included to help in understanding how informal networks function when needs are high and resources are few, with the amount and types of support varying by context and time. The Rural Families Speak (RFS) project mothers’ narratives help demonstrate the types, strengths, and constraints of the support networks that emerged for the families. Further research needs and strategies for aiding positive employment and family well-being outcomes for rural low-income families are presented.

“The Kids Still Come First” Creating Family Stability During Partnership Instability in Rural, Low-Income Families

This qualitative study examined the nature of partnerships among 28 rural low-income mothers who experienced partnership transitions across three waves of annual interviews. Guided by lens of uncertainty and boundary ambiguity theory, the authors specifically explored (a) how low-income mothers in rural communities experience partnership transitions over time and (b) how rural, low-income mothers create stability for themselves and their children in the midst of partnership transitions. The narratives of rural, low-income mothers not only featured the uncertainty, unreliability, and instability of their lives but also underscored their resilience and ability to adapt to an impoverished environment. Their decisions to enter into, stay, and leave partnerships, in most cases, were part of their flexible responses to the structural constraints imposed by unemployment, lack of resources, and rural contexts.

Integrating student-focused career planning into undergraduate gerontology programs

ABSTRACT As our global older adult populations are increasing, university programs are well-positioned to produce an effective, gerontology-trained workforce (Morgan, 2012; Silverstein & Fitzgerald, 2017). A gerontology curriculum comprehensively can offer students an aligned career development track that encourages them to: (a) learn more about themselves as a foundation for negotiating career paths; (b) develop and refine career skills; (c) participate in experiential learning experiences; and (d) complete competency-focused opportunities. In this article, we discuss a programmatic effort to help undergraduate gerontology students integrate development-based career planning and decision-making into their academic programs and achieve postgraduation goals.

The Challenge of Child Care for Rural Low-Income Mothers

Authors examine the lives of rural low-income mothers, highlighting the conditions that, for most families, contribute to a work–child care compromise. An overview of child care in the United States is presented as well as program and policy contexts to help the reader understand the choices made by rural families as they balance employment and child care commitments. The authors examine child care from the experiences of Rural Families Speak (RFS) rural low-income families, and present the benefits and relationship costs that informal care providers have for families. Further research needs and recommendations are included.