Youth adjustment to parental illness or disability: The role of illness characteristics, caregiving, and attachment

Abstract

This study aimed to (1) examine relations between youth adjustment and three sets of predictors: parental illness/disability characteristics, caregiving, and parent–child attachment, and (2) explore differences on these variables between youths of parental physical illness/disability and youths of parental mental illness. Eighty-one youths between 10 and 25 years of a parent with a physical illness/disability (35%) or a mental illness (43%) completed a series of self-report measures assessing perceived characteristics of the parent's illness/disability, caregiving experiences, and adjustment outcomes. Results revealed a set of predictors of poorer youth adjustment: Gradual illness/disability onset, being male, isolation, lower perceived maturity, and less choice in caregiving. Youths of parental mental illness differed from youths of parental physical illness/disability on emotional distress (worry and discomfort) dimensions of caregiving. Youth–parent attachment security was associated with youth caregiving and there was a trend for attachment to vary according to parental illness/disability type. Findings highlight young caregiving as an important target for service and policy planning.

Keywords:

• young carers
• parental illness or disability
• caregiving
• youth adjustment
• attachment

Acknowledgments

This research did not receive a specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors. This study received assistance in data collection from Carers Queensland, Carers New South Wales, and Carers Northern Territory.