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. 2021 Dec 23;19(1):103.
doi: 10.3390/ijerph19010103.

Italian Adolescent Young Caregivers of Grandparents: Difficulties Experienced and Support Needed in Intergenerational Caregiving-Qualitative Findings from a European Union Funded Project

Barbara D'Amen  1 , Marco Socci  1 , Mirko Di Rosa  2 , Giulia Casu  3 , Licia Boccaletti  4 , Elizabeth Hanson  5   6 , Sara Santini  1
Affiliations

Italian Adolescent Young Caregivers of Grandparents: Difficulties Experienced and Support Needed in Intergenerational Caregiving-Qualitative Findings from a European Union Funded Project

Barbara D'Amen et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. .

Abstract

The article aims to describe the experiences of 87 Italian adolescent young caregivers (AYCs) of grandparents (GrPs), with reference to the caregiving stress appraisal model (CSA) that provides a theoretical lens to explore the difficulties encountered and support needed in their caring role. Qualitative data were drawn from an online survey conducted within an EU Horizon 2020 funded project. An inductive thematic analysis was carried out, and the findings were critically interpreted within the conceptual framework of the CSA model. The analysis highlighted three categories of difficulties: material, communication and emotional/psychological. The most common material difficulty was the physical strain associated with moving "uncooperative" disabled older adults. The types of support needed concerned both emotional and material support. The study provides a deeper understanding of the under-studied experiences of AYCs of GrPs. Based on these findings, policies and support measures targeted at AYCs of GrPs should include early needs detection, emotional support and training on intergenerational caring in order to mitigate the stress drivers. Moreover, the study advances the conceptualisation of the CSA model by considering the above-mentioned aspects related to intergenerational caregiving.

Keywords: adolescent young caregivers (AYCs); caregiving difficulties; descriptive study; grandparents (GrPs); support needed.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Themes and subthemes related to difficulties and support needs of AYCs of GrPs.
Figure 2
Figure 2
The CSA model integrated with study findings.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Advancement for the conceptualisation of a caregiving stress model suitable for AYCs of GrPs.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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