Vital Defenses

Abstract

Guided by the conceptual frameworks of social support appraisal mechanisms and cultural variant perspectives, the reported experiences of 23 Black grandmothers parenting grandchildren who receive cash assistance under the current welfare program, Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF), were used to integrate macro- and micro-level perspectives by exploring mechanisms used to appraise social support resources within a historical context. Mechanisms of social support appraisals included personal esteem (i.e., adaptive pride, self-reliance, and personal resources) and social penetration (i.e., family respect and responsibility, reaction to myths or stereotypical views held about poor people, and normative child-centered activities) as economically poor grandmothers demonstrated strong personal integrity and familial responsibility. Grandmothers relied on a wide range of sources for formal and informal support to provide for their grandchildren. Recommendations for future research are discussed to fortify established family defenses.