The study was to develop an instrument to measure grandmothering stress for Korean day-care grandmothers and to test the validity and reliability of the instrument.

The items of the instrument were based on a literature review and secondary data. After content validity tests and a pilot test, 20 items were developed. In order to test the reliability and validity of the scale, data were collected from 126 grandmothers.

After a factor analysis, five factors and 15 items were selected. These explained 67.2% of the total variance. The first domain was termed 'Health problems', and explained 18.1% of the total variance, and the second domain of 'Possibility of role substitution' explained 13.8%. The third and the fourth domains were 'Relations with adult children' and 'Grandchildren's characteristics' explaining 12.5% and 12.1%, respectively. The last domain explained 10.8% of the total variance with the theme 'Restriction of social life'. After accomplishing the reliability analysis, Cronbach's alpha coefficient was determined to be .75.

This initial step in the development of a Grandmothering Stress Index is valuable to reflect the subject of Grandmothering stress in senior citizens in Korea. Future study should to refine the constitution of the instrument.