IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v19y2022i5p2837-d761133.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Difficulties and Needs of Adolescent Young Caregivers of Grandparents in Italy and Slovenia: A Concurrent Mixed-Methods Study

Author

Listed:
  • Sara Santini

    (Centre for Socio-Economic Research on Aging, IRCCS INRCA-National Institute of Health and Science on Aging, Via Santa Margherita 5, 60124 Ancona, Italy)

  • Barbara D’Amen

    (Centre for Socio-Economic Research on Aging, IRCCS INRCA-National Institute of Health and Science on Aging, Via Santa Margherita 5, 60124 Ancona, Italy)

  • Marco Socci

    (Centre for Socio-Economic Research on Aging, IRCCS INRCA-National Institute of Health and Science on Aging, Via Santa Margherita 5, 60124 Ancona, Italy)

  • Mirko Di Rosa

    (Laboratory of Geriatric Pharmacoepidemiology, IRCCS INRCA-National Institute of Health and Science on Aging, Via Santa Margherita 5, 60124 Ancona, Italy)

  • Elizabeth Hanson

    (Department Health and Caring Sciences, Linnaeus University, SE-39182 Kalmar, Sweden
    The Swedish Family Care Competence Centre, Strömgatan 13, SE-39232 Kalmar, Sweden)

  • Valentina Hlebec

    (Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Ljubljana, Kardeljeva Ploščad 5, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia)

Abstract

Many adolescent young caregivers (AYCs) care for a grandparent (GrP) with chronic disease, especially in countries with no or low developed long-term care systems and/or level of awareness of and policy responses to young caregivers. This mixed-methods study aimed at shedding light on the needs and difficulties faced by a sample of 162 adolescents aged 15–17, caring for GrPs, living in Italy (87) and Slovenia (75), respectively. A multiple linear regression model was built for the quantitative data. Qualitative data were content analysed using an open coding process. Italian and Slovenian respondents reported a moderate amount of caring activity and relatively high positive caregiving outcomes. Nevertheless, one out of three AYCs reported health problems due to their caring responsibilities. Compared to their Italian counterparts, Slovenian respondents were supported to a lesser extent by public services. Italian respondents faced communicative and practical problems; Slovenian AYCs experienced mainly emotional discomfort. AYCs from both countries requested emotional and practical support from formal services and family networks. Further, Slovenian AYCs requested emotional support and a personalized learning plan from schoolteachers. Support measures aimed at training AYCs of GrPs on geriatric care are recommended to address specific issues related to ageing and long-term care needs.

Suggested Citation

  • Sara Santini & Barbara D’Amen & Marco Socci & Mirko Di Rosa & Elizabeth Hanson & Valentina Hlebec, 2022. "Difficulties and Needs of Adolescent Young Caregivers of Grandparents in Italy and Slovenia: A Concurrent Mixed-Methods Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(5), pages 1-20, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:5:p:2837-:d:761133
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/5/2837/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/5/2837/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Maša Filipovič Hrast & Valentina Hlebec & Tatjana Rakar, 2020. "Sustainable Care in a Familialist Regime: Coping with Elderly Care in Slovenia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(20), pages 1-15, October.
    2. Christophe Courbage & Guillem Montoliu-Montes & Joël Wagner, 2020. "The effect of long-term care public benefits and insurance on informal care from outside the household: empirical evidence from Italy and Spain," The European Journal of Health Economics, Springer;Deutsche Gesellschaft für Gesundheitsökonomie (DGGÖ), vol. 21(8), pages 1131-1147, November.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Elizabeth Hanson & Francesco Barbabella & Lennart Magnusson & Rosita Brolin & Miriam Svensson & Stecy Yghemonos & Valentina Hlebec & Irena Bolko & Licia Boccaletti & Giulia Casu & Renske Hoefman & Ali, 2022. "Research and Innovation for and with Adolescent Young Carers to Influence Policy and Practice—The European Union Funded “ME-WE” Project," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(16), pages 1-33, August.
    2. Francesco Barbabella & Lennart Magnusson & Licia Boccaletti & Giulia Casu & Valentina Hlebec & Irena Bolko & Feylyn Lewis & Renske Hoefman & Rosita Brolin & Sara Santini & Marco Socci & Barbara D’Amen, 2023. "Recruitment of Adolescent Young Carers to a Psychosocial Support Intervention Study in Six European Countries: Lessons Learned from the ME-WE Project," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(6), pages 1-20, March.
    3. Araviinthansai Subramaniam & Kalyani Kirtikar Mehta, 2024. "Exploring the Lived Experiences of Caregiving for Older Family Members by Young Caregivers in Singapore: Transition, Trials, and Tribulations," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 21(2), pages 1-27, February.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Rapp, Thomas & Ronchetti, Jérome & Sicsic, Jonathan, 2022. "Impact of formal care consumption on informal care use in Europe: What is happening at the beginning of dependency?," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 126(7), pages 632-642.
    2. Miao Guo & Yang Li & Minghao Wu & Terence C. Cheng, 2024. "Services and Cash: How Long-term Care Insurance Benefit Design Affects Household Behavior in China," Papers 2024-13, Centre for Health Economics, Monash University.
    3. Eling, Martin & Ghavibazoo, Omid & Hanewald, Katja, 2021. "Willingness to take financial risks and insurance holdings: A European survey," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 95(C).
    4. Mirian Fernández Salido & Carolina Moreno-Castro & Francesco Belletti & Stecy Yghemonos & Jorge Garcès Ferrer & Georgia Casanova, 2022. "Innovating European Long-Term Care Policies through the Socio-Economic Support of Families: A Lesson from Practices," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(7), pages 1-12, March.
    5. Mihaela Ghența & Aniela Matei & Luise Mladen-Macovei & Maria Denisa Vasilescu & Elen-Silvana Bobârnat, 2021. "Sustainable Care and Factors Associated with Quality of Life among Older Beneficiaries of Social Services," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(3), pages 1-15, February.
    6. Tongbo Deng & Yafan Fan & Mengdi Wu & Min Li, 2022. "Older People’s Long-Term Care Preferences in China: The Impact of Living with Grandchildren on Older People’s Willingness and Family Decisions," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(19), pages 1-18, September.
    7. Gianina Chirugu & Mihaela Rus, 2022. "The quality of life of seniors from Romania during the coronavirus pandemic period," Technium Social Sciences Journal, Technium Science, vol. 38(1), pages 641-648, December.
    8. Cieplinski, André & D'Alessandro, Simone & Dwarkasing, Chandni & Guarnieri, Pietro, 2023. "Narrowing women’s time and income gaps: An assessment of the synergies between working time reduction and universal income schemes," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 167(C).
    9. Tim Arlinghaus & Kevin Kus & Patricia Kajüter Rodrigues & Frank Teuteberg, 2023. "Visualizing Benefits of Case Management Software Using Utility Effect Chains," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(6), pages 1-14, March.
    10. Mariana Calderón-Jaramillo & Pilar Zueras, 2023. "Cared and uncared populations: understanding unmet care needs of older adults (65+) across different social care systems in Europe," European Journal of Ageing, Springer, vol. 20(1), pages 1-14, December.
    11. Oliver Fisher, 2021. "The Impact of Micro and Macro Level Factors on the Working and Living Conditions of Migrant Care Workers in Italy and Israel—A Scoping Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(2), pages 1-33, January.
    12. Christophe Courbage & Guillem Montoliu-Montes & Joël Wagner, 2023. "On children’s motives to influence parents’ long-term care insurance purchase: evidence from Switzerland," The Geneva Papers on Risk and Insurance - Issues and Practice, Palgrave Macmillan;The Geneva Association, vol. 48(1), pages 102-129, January.
    13. Barbara D’Amen & Marco Socci & Mirko Di Rosa & Giulia Casu & Licia Boccaletti & Elizabeth Hanson & Sara Santini, 2021. "Italian Adolescent Young Caregivers of Grandparents: Difficulties Experienced and Support Needed in Intergenerational Caregiving—Qualitative Findings from a European Union Funded Project," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(1), pages 1-14, December.
    14. Sara Santini & Marco Socci & Paolo Fabbietti & Giovanni Lamura & Andrea Teti, 2022. "Factors Worsening and Mitigating the Consequences of the COVID-19 Outbreak on the Overall Health of Informal Caregivers of Older People with Long-Term Care Needs Living in Germany and in Italy," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(3), pages 1-21, February.
    15. Carlo Lallo & Marta Pasqualini & Cecilia Tomassini, 2022. "Trends in the Use of Home LTC Services in Large, Medium and Small Municipalities in Italy: Lessons for the Post-COVID-19 Reappraisal," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(19), pages 1-12, October.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:5:p:2837-:d:761133. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.