Study of Adolescent Young Carers Aged 15–17 in Six European Countries

• Full report: Study of Adolescent Young Carers Aged 15–17 in Six European Countries

   

• Report authors: Feylyn Mercedies Lewis, Saul Becker, Thomas Parkhouse, Stephen Joseph, Valentina Hlebec, Maja Mrzel, Rosita Brolin, Giulia Casu, Licia Boccaletti, Sara Santini, Barbara D’Amen, Marco Socci, Renske Hoefman, Nynke de Jong

• Published by: International Journal of Care and Caring, April 2022

SUMMARY

The report authors wanted to find out more about young carers aged between 15 and 17. Using an online survey, they gathered data on 2,099 adolescent young carers and non-carers in Italy, the Netherlands, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK.

UK young carers were more likely than those in the other five countries to say being a young carer had a negative effect on their school performance, that they had been bullied and to report mental health problems. They were also more likely to have considered self-harm or considered harming others.

For example, 37.3 per cent of UK young carers said being a young carer had a negative effect on their school performance. This compares with 10.1 per cent in Slovenia, 13.1 per cent in Sweden, 12.3 per cent in the Netherlands, 16.1 in Switzerland and nine per cent in Italy. More than a third – 36.2 per cent – of UK young carers had experienced bullying compared with 16.1 per cent in Switzerland, which was the second highest scoring country.

More than half – 57.3 per cent – of UK young carers reported mental health problems compared with the second highest scoring country Switzerland at 33.9 per cent. A higher proportion of UK young carers – 27.9 per cent – had considered self-harm compared with 18.3 per cent in second highest scoring country Switzerland and 7.3 per cent in lowest scoring country Slovenia.

One measure on which UK young carers did not score most highly was when they were asked whether caring had an impact on their physical health – 29.6 per cent said it had compared with 36 per cent in Switzerland.

Researchers used a tool called the Multidimensional Assessment of Caring Activities to measure how often young people carried out caring activities with higher scores showing higher levels of responsibility. The researchers found respondents who experienced problems such as bullying tended to be those with high levels of caring responsibility. UK young carers spent the most amount of time on caring activities scoring an average of 14.44 on the measurement tool. Swedish young carers spent the least amount of time on caring activities scoring 10.92. Across the board, female young carers spent more time on caring activities. The gender gap was particularly prevalent in the UK with girls scoring 15.64 compared with boys on 11.98.

The survey also measured wellbeing using the Kidscreen-10 questionnaire with a total score of 50 indicating extremely high wellbeing. Adolescent young carers reported significantly lower scores than their peers in every country. Young carers in the UK had the second lowest score after Slovenia and showed the biggest gap in wellbeing between them and their non-carer peers. Adolescent young carers in the UK scored 30.74 compared with 35.78 for non-carers. Female young carers rated their own wellbeing significantly lower than male counterparts in all six countries with young women in the UK reporting the lowest wellbeing.

IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE

These findings suggest the amount of care provided by a young person can have a negative impact on their own health and wellbeing. This seems to be especially true for girls, something projects supporting young carers could bear in mind. Many young carers are at significant risk of mental distress and may need access to dedicated, appropriate support designed to reduce the risk of harm to themselves or others. The report authors suggest the UK’s high scores could reflect the fact UK adolescents already experience poorer mental health compared with European counterparts.

FURTHER READING

• The Awareness, Visibility and Support for Young Carers across Europe: A Delphi Study, Henk Herman Nap and others, BMC Health Services Research, October 2020

• Young Adult Carers: The Impact of Caring on Health and Education, Saul Becker and Joe Sempik, Children and Society, December 2018

• The Lives of Young Carers in England, Sarah Cheesbrough and others, Department for Education, January 2017