Young Adult Carers during the Pandemic

The Effects of Parental Illness and Other Ill Family Members on Covid-19-Related and General Mental Health Outcomes

Datos Bibliográficos

ID15480293
AutoresGiovanni Landi (0000-0002-2576-3528, University of Bologna, autor de correspondencia), Kenneth I Pakenham (0000-0002-8653-4593, The University of Queensland), Silvana Grandi (0000-0003-3401-2301, University of Bologna), Eliana Tossani (0000-0002-6197-4496, University of Bologna)
Año2022
Volumen19
Número6
Páginas3391-3391
Fecha de publicación2022-03-13
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaInternational Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 1661-7827 • E-ISSN: 1660-4601
EditorialMultidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (PUBLISHER • CH)
DOI10.3390/ijerph19063391
PMID35329079
OpenAlexW4220724204
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas13
Referencias citadas56

The mental health impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on young adult carers have been neglected. This study aimed to identify COVID-19 related risk factors for young adult carers and to investigate their mental health relative to non-carer peers. Of the 1823 Italians aged 18-29 who completed an online survey, 1458 reported no ill family member (non-carers). Young adult carers included 268 with an ill parent, and 97 with an ill non-parent family member. Two mental health outcome categories were measured: COVID-19-related (risky health behaviors, loneliness, home violence, fear of COVID-19) and general (anxiety, depression, wellbeing). Six COVID-19 related risk factors were significantly correlated with poorer mental health in young adult carers. These factors constituted a COVID-19 Context Index. Compared to non-carers, young adult carers reported poorer mental health across all outcomes, as expected. The prediction that young adult carers caring for an ill parent would report poorer mental health than those caring for ill non-parent family members was evident only for the COVID-19-related mental health outcomes. The elevated rates of clinically significant distress and pandemic-related mental health problems among young adult carers highlight this group as a priority for mental health promotion interventions and whole-of-family support across multiple sectors

Anxiety · Context (archaeology · Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19 · Depression (economics · Disease · Distress · Family medicine · Family member · Loneliness · Mental health · Mental illness · Pandemic · Psychiatry · Psychological intervention · Young adult · Clinical Psychology · Family Caregiving in Mental Illness · Family Support in Illness · Intergenerational Family Dynamics and Caregiving · Medicine · Psychology · Gerontology