Grandparents’ Roles and Psychological Well Being in Elderly (Correlational Study In Family With Autism Child)

Abstract

Objective: The purpose of this study was to find the correlation between grandparents’ roles in the family and psychological wellbeing of elderly in taking care of their grandchildren with autism spectrum disorder. Methods: The study used quantitative methods with correlational design. Measuring devices were the scale of psychological well being and the role of grandparent. This research involved 108 elderly from Semarang, Jepara and Kendal, obtained through a quota-purposive sampling technique. Quantitative data analysis was based on simple regression analysis. Results: The study results in rxy = 0.397, p = 0.000 (p <0.05), which indicates a positive and significant correlation between the role of grandparent and psychological well-being of the elderly. Conclusions: The test result indicates a significant correlation between the roles of grandparents to their psychological wellbeing where the higher the roles results in the higher psychological wellbeing they experience and, vice versa, the lower roles of grandparents results in the lower psychological wellbeing. Implication for Practice : Elderly actually plays an important role in the family, i.e take care for the child when the parents are not at home, help for the cost of therapy and take care of them when sick.