Grandmothers report that they benefit from receiving support from church, community, and governmental agencies. African American grandmothers report that social support is one of the primary influences on their parenting. Social support is particularly crucial in an aging population because grandmothers identify health challenges and limited energy as one of their main concerns. Within the context of aging, African American grandparents may have problems with their emotional and physical health and report negative emotions such as fatigue. In addition, grandmothers may experience stress as a parent. Grandparents of emotionally and behaviorally disturbed children express bewilderment, fear, and guilt at having to interact with children, and this problem may be compounded if the grandchild resides with them. Furthermore, lack of adequate knowledge about child development and current parenting strategies can exacerbate the level of parenting stress in an environment perceived to be difficult for parenting, especially if grandparents are thrust into the parent role with little preparation. Although research on the impact of parenting stress on specific parenting behaviors is lacking, we know that specific parenting behaviors such as warmth, control, and consistent discipline are related to healthy child development, and parenting strategies may even impact a child’s peer relationships. Although research on the value of parenting is strongly in its favor, there is a need to clarify how parenting variables are related to children’s social competence in African American families, particularly with respect to the potential for intervention. Parenting intervention with grandmothers raising grandchildren needs to incorporate findings about social support, aging, parenting stress, and parenting behaviors in grandmothers. Information about how specific discipline practices and communication strategies influence grandchildren’s social competence will also help in constructing appropriate intervention strategies and increase parental efficacy. The current study explores the impact of social support, aging morale, parenting stress, and parenting behaviors of grandmothers on grandchildren’s social competence. The relationship between specific parenting behaviors of the grandmother and the grandchild’s negative and prosocial behaviors will also be examined.