Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 1, 2025

A Modified Trier Social Stress Test for Vulnerable Mexican American Adolescents
Published on: July 10, 2017
What characterizes adolescent young carers? A multigroup comparative study
Jade Pilato1, Kristopher Lamore1,2, Christel Vioulac1
1Laboratoire de Psychopathologie et Processus de Santé, Université Paris Cité, Boulogne-Billancourt, France.
Context:
To identify the characteristics of adolescent young carers (AYCs), studies in the literature have compared them with non-AYCs, but without considering that in the latter group, some face the illness of a relative whereas others do not.
Objectives:
The aims of the study were (1) to identify the characteristics of AYCs as compared with adolescents who are not young carers but are facing the illness/disability of a relative, or adolescents not facing the illness/disability of a relative, and (2) to identify factors associated with being a carer within adolescents facing a relative illness.
Methods:
A total of 4000 high school students (grades 10-12, mainly aged 15-17 years, 568 identified as AYCs, 1200 as adolescents facing the illness/disability of a relative without being a carer and 2232 as adolescents not facing the illness/disability of a relative) completed a self-reported questionnaire assessing sociodemographic characteristics, illness/disability in the family, caregiving activities (MACA-YC18 and specific emotional support scale), quality of life (KIDSCREEN-10) and mental health (GHQ-12). Chi-square tests, ANOVAs and logistic regressions were performed.
Results:
AYCs scored lower on the quality-of-life measure compared with adolescents not facing the illness/disability of a relative (p < .001) and had poorer mental health compared with adolescents facing the illness/disability of a relative without being a carer and adolescents not facing the illness/disability of a relative (p < .001). Logistic regressions showed that youth were more at risk to be an AYC when they were females (p < .001), when they had an extracurricular job (p < .001), spoke another language at home (p < .01), had siblings and were one of the oldest siblings (p < .001), and when the relative had a serious or chronic physical illness (p < .001) and lived with the youth (p < .001).
Conclusions:
These results highlight the importance of distinguishing AYCs, adolescents facing the illness/disability of a relative without being a carer and adolescents not facing the illness/disability of a relative to better describe AYCs, recognizing that as the level of care provided might change over time, adolescents facing the illness/disability of a relative without being a carer could become AYCs or inversely. The factors that emerged could be used by professionals to better identify AYCs.
More Related Videos
07:56Assessing the Coherence of Parents' Short Narratives Regarding their Child Using the Five-Minute Speech Sample Procedure
Published on: September 19, 2019
05:52Handwriting Analysis Indicates Spontaneous Dyskinesias in Neuroleptic Naïve Adolescents at High Risk for Psychosis
Published on: November 21, 2013
Related Concept Videos
Ethnic Identity within a Larger Culture
Case Studies
Cross-Sectional Research
Influence of Parents and Peers on Identity
Parental Influence on Identity Development
Parents serve as primary guides and managers in an adolescent's life, offering support instrumental in decision-making and personal growth....
Cognitive Development During Adolescence
Self-Evaluation: Self-Enhancement and Self-Verification