Young Carers: Investigation of the Psychosocial Impact of Caregiving on Youth Who Have a Parent with an Illness or Disability (2008-2010)

This project targets an emerging social crisis: the adverse impacts of young caregiving. There is an estimated 169,900 carers aged 18 years or less in Australia. Preliminary data suggests many of them suffer in ways that compromise their well-being. Yet there is a dearth of large-scale empirical data to inform policy and services. This project investigates the impact of caregiving on youth who have a parent with an illness/disability, by surveying youngsters 10-18 years. Building on pilot data, this project will define the characteristics and extent of young caregiving, establish contextually sensitive measures, develop a theoretical framework for researching caregiving, and identify risk and protective factors related to carer well-being.