Doctoral project: Promoting the mental health and wellbeing of young carers
This doctoral project aims to further the understanding of the health effects and mental well-being of young carers in the age range of 12-15 years in Sweden, as well as co-designing and implementing an evidence-based psychosocial intervention for the target group.
Project information
Title
Promoting the mental health and wellbeing of young carers: Examining their life conditions and testing a psychosocial intervention
Doctoral student
Emilia Öhberg
Supervisor
Elizabeth Hanson
Assistant supervisors
Lennart Magnusson, Francesco Barbabella, Samantha Sinclair
Financier
Swedish Family Care Competence Centre (Nka), Linnaeus University
Timetable
September 2023-Mars 2029
Subject
Health and Caring Sciences (Department of Health and Caring Sciences, Faculty of Health and Life Sciences)
More about the project
It is estimated that 24% of children aged between 15-17 years old in Sweden are children as next of kin (CANOK). That is, they have a family member or other significant person who suffers from mental illness, substance misuse, mental disability or disorder, chronic illness or who suddenly dies. Among this group, it is estimated that 70% provide substantial caring responsibilities to their next of kin and are therefore Young Carers (YC). Being a YC means carrying out significant caring activities that are of a nature and intensity which would usually be associated with that of an adult. This can have far-reaching effects on mental health, school, performance, employability and future life prospects. There are, however, significant gaps in the existing research with regards to YCs under the age of 15 in Sweden. A quarter of all respondents in a previous survey, aimed at CANOK and YC aged 15-17 years old (ME-WE), reported that they had been providing care “for as long as they can remember” which points to the need for further research in this field.
The thesis aims to further the understanding of the health effects and mental well-being of YC aged 12-15 years in Sweden. The studies will include co-design methods in order to develop an evidence-based psychosocial intervention for the target group that will subsequently be implemented and tested in several municipalities and non-governmental organisations using a mixed methods approach.
The thesis will consist of the following four studies:
Study I: The aim of this study is to explore the available evidence and current understanding of the effects on mental health and wellbeing that caring activities have on young carers aged 12-15 years by conducting a systematic meta-review. The systematic meta-review aims to give an overview of the research available on this group by synthesising previous reviews of several types.
Study II: A quantitative study with a cross-sectional design with a target of n = 2000. The aim is to examine the life conditions and mental wellbeing of YCs in Sweden. Specifically, it aims to:
- Explore the life conditions and perceived health of YCs’ aged 12-15 years old in Sweden.
- To investigate the relationship between YCs’ perceived health as a result of their caring role and,
- The types of caring responsibilities they have,
- Amount of care and support they give,
- Self-reported educational achievement and attendance,
- Positive and negative feelings with regards to their caring role,
- Resilience in YCs
- When they began their caring role, and
- Levels of support they receive.
Study III: A qualitative study using the co-design research methodology. It aims to design a primary prevention psychosocial intervention based on the EU ME-WE model (Hanson et al., 2022) and adapted for a younger age range, with input from Blended Learning Networks (BLNs). BLNs consist of heterogeneous communities of practice comprising professionals working with CANOK and YCs, as well as YCs and former YCs themselves.
Study IV: To be decided in due course, in discussion with the supervision team and following feedback from the half-time seminar reviewers and examiner.
The project is part of the research in the project Young Kin – The mental wellbeing of children as next of kin