Cultural concepts of distress among Albanian young adults living in Switzerland - a qualitative study.

Objectives: Existing research recognizes the critical role that social, sociodemographic, and acculturative processes play in increasing vulnerability for experiencing psychological distress among second-generation migrants. However, to date, far too little attention has been given to the study of psychological distress in this social group. The main objective of this study is to examine cultural identities, as well as expressions and causes of psychological distress among second-generation Albanian-speaking migrants in Switzerland. Methods: Semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted with 13 Albanian-speaking participants between 19 and 35 years of age using the interview of the Barts Explanatory Model Inventory. Data were analyzed by qualitative content analysis using MAXQDA-2018 software. Findings: Study participants showed bicultural identities, which caused value conflicts and a feeling of being "caught" between Swiss and Albanian culture. Some participants experienced the fear of disappointing their parents. Others find it difficult to deal with conflicting norms and values. Parentification was another important cause within their cultural concept of distress. At the same time, (implicit) social support, i.e., spending time with the family and the community, was an important coping mechanism. Conclusion: Second-generation immigrants are exposed to specific risk factors for psychological distress. A better understanding of these risk factors and their coping mechanisms is essential for providing them with meaningful support services, both in prevention and psychotherapy.

Parentification Vulnerability, Reactivity, Resilience, and Thriving: A Mixed Methods Systematic Literature Review.

Parentification occurs when youth are forced to assume developmentally inappropriate parent- or adult-like roles and responsibilities. This review thoroughly examines current empirical research on parentification, its outcomes, and related mechanisms to outline patterns of findings and significant literature gaps. This review is timely in the large context of the COVID-19 pandemic, when pandemic-induced responsibilities and demands on youth, and the shifting family role may exacerbate parentification and its consequences. We used the 2020 updated Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) framework to identify 95 studies (13 qualitative, 81 quantitative, 1 mixed methods) meeting eligibility criteria. Representation from six continents highlights parentification as a global phenomenon. Using thematic analysis, we identified five themes from qualitative studies and five from quantitative studies. These were further integrated into four common themes: (1) some parentified youth experienced positive outcomes (e.g., positive coping), albeit constructs varied; (2) to mitigate additional trauma, youth employed various protective strategies; (3) common negative outcomes experienced by youth included internalizing behaviors, externalizing problems, and compromised physical health; and (4) youths' characteristics (e.g., rejection sensitivity, attachment style), perceived benefits, and supports influenced parentification outcomes. Future methodological and substantive directions are discussed.

[A comparison of perceived maternal love and parentification in children of single-mothers and two-parent families]. / Wahrgenommene mütterliche Liebe und Rollenumkehr im Vergleich zwischen Kindern Alleinerziehender und Kindern aus Zweielternfamilien.

Objectives: About 20 % of children in Germany grow up with a single mother - this is often associated with multiple strain for the mothers and may have adverse effects on the child-parent relationship. Methods: In two retrospective internet surveys (wave 1 born in 1960s, wave 2 born in 1990s) perceived maternal love and role reversal were assessed in children of single mothers and children grown up in two parent families. Results: In both waves high values of maternal love were reported. For children raised by single mothers, strong effects for age and occupational status were observed. Contrary to literature, no gender specific effects on role reversal were observed in this sample. Discussion: High occupational strain in a single mother was associated with less perceived love in the child.Multiple strain in singlemothers should findmore social and political attention. Regarding role reversal support should address daughters and sons similarly.

Parentification in Polish Adolescents: a Prevalence Study.

This study investigated the prevalence of parentification in a nationwide cross-sectional study. There were N = 47,984 Polish adolescents aged 12-21 (M = 15.60; SD = 1.98; female 52.7%, male 47.3%). The results indicated that more adolescents experienced emotional parentification (toward parents 35.9%; toward siblings 25.2%) as compared to instrumental parentification (toward parents 7.2%; toward siblings 15.5%), which is noteworthy, since emotional parentification is the most detrimental form of parentification in USA samples. Overall, 15.5% of the participants reported a sense of injustice related to their family caregiving roles and 61.2% reported satisfaction related to their family caregiving roles. The results are important given the dearth of prevalence studies.

Parentification, distress, and relationship with parents as factors shaping the relationship between adult siblings and their brother/sister with disabilities.

According to parentification theory, when the siblings of a brother/sister with disabilities assume parent-like duties, this role reversal is known as sibling-focused parentification. It has a significant impact on these siblings' distress and the quality of their family relationships; 605 Italian adult siblings (19-26 years) of people with disabilities completed the online survey. Measures of siblings' parentification, distress, quality of family relationships, social support, and perceived benefits of parentification were used. The hypothesized model aims to test, on the target sample, the distress and the quality of the relationship with parents as mediators on the interplay between the siblings' parentification and their sibling relationship. Additionally, social support and perceived benefits of parentification as protective factors were considered. Results showed that the distress and the low quality of the relationship with parents negatively affected the interplay between the siblings' parentification and the relationship with their own brother/sister with disabilities. Social support and the perceived benefits of parentification decreased the siblings' distress levels; the perceived benefits of parentification served as a protective factor for the quality of the relationship with parents. Current findings extend the knowledge regarding the risk and protective factors of the siblings' mental health when disability occurs in the family. Additionally, they inform family-based intervention programs, which should involve the whole family system for reducing distress and improving the wellbeing of siblings without disabilities.

Exploring Resiliency and Parentification in Polish Adolescents.

Parentification is a form of distorted division of roles and responsibilities in the family where the roles of parent and child are reversed. A situation that goes beyond the child's capabilities and exhausts resources usually yields numerous negative consequences. Nevertheless, in some circumstances, parentification may be beneficial by shaping resiliency. The main aim of the study was to examine the relations between parentification characteristics and resiliency. There were 208 adolescents (Mage = 14.55; SDage = 1.00) who participated in the study. Resiliency was evaluated using the Polish Scale for Children and Adolescents SPP-18. Parentification level was measured with the polish Parentification Questionnaire for Youth. The analyses revealed significant relations between parentification and resiliency dimensions. The relations were different based on the participant's gender. The obtained results underline the role of resiliency in shaping the perception of family role dysfunctions such as parentification.

Adaptation of the parentification questionnaire for the brazilian context / Adaptação do questionário sobre a parentalização para o contexto brasileiro / Adaptación del inventario de parentalización para el contexto brasileño

Parentification involves a role reversal phenomenon between family subsystems, including role distortions and hierarchy inversion. The purpose of this study was to adapt and search for validity evidence of the Parentification Questionnaire for the Brazilian context. After translation procedures, the authors applied the instrument in 868 adults of four geographic regions of Brazil, of which 55.4 percent were women. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses revealed the solution of three parentification factors (i.e., emotional parenting, instrumental parenting and perceived unfairness) as adequate, with satisfactory internal consistency rates, following the construct theory. As expected, the authors also found relations with other variables; for example, people who presented parentification indicators in their speeches displayed higher levels in the three factors of the construct; while women displayed higher levels of parentification than men. The Brazilian version of the instrument showed satisfactory validity evidence and appropriate reliability indicators. (AU)

A parentalização compreende um fenômeno de reversão de papéis entre os subsistemas familiares, incluindo distorções de papéis e inversão de hierarquia. Este estudo teve como objetivos adaptar e buscar evidências de validade do Questionário sobre a Parentalização para o contexto brasileiro. Após procedimentos de tradução, o instrumento foi aplicado em 868 adultos de quatro regiões do Brasil, sendo 55,4% mulheres. Análises fatoriais exploratórias e confirmatórias revelaram a solução de três fatores para a parentalização (i.e., parentalização emocional, parentalização instrumental e percepção de injustiça) como adequada, com satisfatórios índices de consistência interna, consonante com a teoria sobre o construto. Também se encontraram relações com outras variáveis conforme esperado, por exemplo, as pessoas que apresentavam indicadores de parentalização no discurso mostraram maiores níveis nos três fatores do construto; já as mulheres mostraram maiores níveis de parentalização do que os homens. A versão brasileira do instrumento apresentou satisfatórias evidências de validade e indicadores adequados de fidedignidade. (AU)

La parentalización comprende un fenómeno de reversión de roles entre los subsistemas familiares, incluyendo distorsiones de roles e inversión de jerarquía. Este estudio tuvo como objetivos adaptar y buscar evidencias de validez del Inventario sobre la Parentalización para el contexto brasileño. Después de procedimientos de traducción, el instrumento fue aplicado en 868 adultos de cuatro regiones de Brasil, siendo 55,4% mujeres. Análisis factoriales exploratorias y confirmatorias revelaron la solución de tres factores para la parentalización (i.e., parentalización emocional, parentalización instrumental y percepción de la injusticia) como adecuada, con índices de consistencia interna satisfactorios, consonante con la teoría sobre el constructo. Conforme esperado, también se encontraron relaciones con otras variables, por ejemplo: las personas que presentaban indicadores de parentalización en el discurso mostraron niveles más altos en los tres factores del constructo; ya mujeres mostraron niveles más altos de parentalización que los hombres. La versión brasileña del instrumento presentó satisfactorias evidencias de validez e indicadores adecuados de confiabilidad. (AU)

The Relations Among Types of Parentification, School Achievement, and Quality of Life in Early Adolescence: An Exploratory Study.

Children who experience parentification may have trouble performing developmental tasks due to being overwhelmed by their family caregiving roles and responsibilities. Past studies have found that parentification is negatively associated with academic achievement. However, most of these studies are limited in that they are retrospective and examine the association but not the mechanisms shaping them. The aim of the study was to explore to what extent diverse types of parentification relate to academic achievement and to what extent these relations are mediated by self-reported quality of life among adolescents. The study sample was composed of Polish early adolescents (N = 191; age: M = 14.61; SD = 1.26). Types of parentification were measured with the Parentification Questionnaire for Youth, and quality of life was assessed with KidScreen27. School achievement was measured based on mean semester grade. We explored the associations among study variables and performed six mediation models in the planned analyses. Overall, bivariate relations were significant in a theoretically expected way, although the effect sizes for these associations were rather small. In the mediation analyses, the results showed that four of the six models were not significant. Different from previous studies, instrumental parentification was positively related to school achievement. Additionally, this positive association was mediated by adolescents' general quality of life. Taken together, the findings were similar and different from the empirical literature base on types of parentification and select outcomes.

Maternal parentification history impacts evaluative cognitions about self, parenting, and child.

Parentification occurs when children are unfairly charged with fulfilling parental instrumental and emotional needs. Parentification is associated with risk to evaluative self cognitions from childhood to emerging adulthood, but this association has not yet been studied among parents. The transition to parenthood is typically characterized by declines in self-esteem, suggesting it is a critical period for understanding the risk parentification history poses to evaluative self-cognitions and evaluative cognitions about children. The present study addresses these gaps using longitudinal data (N = 374 first-time mothers) to examine the influence of maternal parentification history domains (emotional and instrumental caregiving, role unfairness) on trajectories of maternal evaluative cognitions about the self (self-esteem, parenting self-efficacy) and about the child (difficult child temperament, dissatisfaction with child contributions to relationships) in early parenthood. A spillover model was also examined such that evaluative cognitions about the self were examined as potential mediators between parentification history and evaluative cognitions about children. Results support associations between the role unfairness domain of parentification and each domain of maternal evaluative cognitions and a significant indirect effect of unfairness on risk to maternal evaluative cognitions about child contributions via parenting self-efficacy. Implications for mother-child relationships and processes of intergenerational transmission of parentification are discussed.

La parentalización ocurre cuando a los niños se les hace asumir injustamente las necesidades instrumentales y emocionales de los padres. Se asocia la parentalización con el riesgo de auto cognición evaluativa de la niñez al naciente estado de adultez, pero esta asociación no ha sido aún estudiada entre los padres. La transición a la condición de ser padres se caracteriza típicamente por las bajas en la auto estima, lo cual sugiere que se trata de un período crítico para comprender el riesgo que el historial de la parentalización presenta para la auto cognición evaluativa y las cogniciones evaluativas sobre los niños. El presente estudio trata de estos vacíos usando datos longitudinales (N = 374 madres primerizas) para examinar la influencia de los campos del historial de la parentalización materna (el cuidado emocional e instrumental, el papel de lo que es injusto) sobre las trayectorias de las cogniciones evaluativas maternas acerca de ellas mismas (auto estima, auto efectividad en la crianza) y acerca del niño (el difícil temperamento del niño, la insatisfacción con las contribuciones del niño a las relaciones) en la temprana etapa de la maternidad. Se examinó un modelo de efectos secundarios de tal manera que se examinaron las cogniciones evaluativas acerca del yo como posibles factores de mediación entre el historial de parentalización y las cogniciones evaluativas acerca de los niños. Los resultados apoyan las asociaciones entre el papel del ámbito de lo injusto de la parentalización y cada ámbito de cogniciones evaluativas maternas y un efecto indirecto significativo de lo injusto sobre el riesgo de cogniciones evaluativas maternas sobre las contribuciones del niño por medio de la auto efectividad de la crianza. Se discuten las implicaciones de las relaciones madre-niño y los procesos de transmisión intergeneracional de la parentalización.

La parentification prend place lorsque on exige injustement des enfants qu'ils remplissent les besoins instrumentaux et émotionnels parentaux. La parentification est liée au risque d'auto-cognitions évaluatives de l'enfance au début de l'âge adulte, mais cette association n'a pas encore été étudiée chez les parents. La transition à la parenté est typiquement caractérisée par des déclins dans la confiance, suggérant que c'est une période critique pour comprendre l'histoire de risque que la parentification pose aux auto-cognitions évaluative et aux cognitions évaluatives sur les enfants. Cette étude porte sur ces écarts en utilisant des données longitudinales (N = 374 mères dont c'était la première grossesse) afin d'examiner l'influence des domaines de l'histoire de la parentification maternelle (soins émotionnels et instrumentaux, injustice du rôle) sur des trajectoires de cognition évaluative maternelle sur le moi (confiance en soi, auto-efficacité de parentage) et sur l'enfant (tempérament difficile de l'enfant, insatisfaction avec les contributions de l'enfant à la relation) au début de la parenté. Un modèle de débordement a aussi été examiné de telle manière que les cognitions évaluatives sur le self ont été examinées en tant que médiatrices potentielles entre l'histoire de parentification et les cognitions évaluatives sur les enfants. Les résultats soutiennent les liens entre le domaine de parentification de l'injustice du rôle et chaque domaine de cognitions évaluatives maternelles et un effet indirect important de l'injustice sur le risque aux cognitions évaluatives maternelles sur les contributions de l'enfant au travers de l'auto-efficacité de parentage. Les implications pour les relations mère-enfant et les processus de transmission intergénérationnelle de la parentification sont discutés.

Modifiable factors associated with mental health symptoms in siblings of adolescents with anorexia nervosa.

PURPOSE: Research demonstrates that anorexia nervosa (AN) takes a significant toll on affected families, yet the well-being of siblings has been largely overlooked. This study examines mental health symptoms in siblings of adolescents with AN and seeks to identify modifiable factors associated with well-being. METHOD: Participants included 34 siblings (aged 11-19) of adolescents with AN and 47 age and sex matched controls. Participants and their caregivers completed assessments of anxiety, depression, internalizing and externalizing problems, and parentification. Siblings of adolescents with AN also completed the Sibling Perception Questionnaire, an assessment of perceptions and attitudes about AN. RESULTS: Analyses indicated that siblings of adolescents with AN reported greater anxiety and parentification than controls. On caregiver reports of participants' internalizing and externalizing symptoms, no significant differences were found across groups. In siblings of adolescents with AN, females were more vulnerable to anxiety, depression, and negative attitudes and perceptions about AN than males. Perceived negative interpersonal interactions, specific to having a brother or sister with AN, were associated with greater anxiety and depression among AN siblings. CONCLUSION: Findings from this pilot study suggest that siblings of adolescents with AN are vulnerable to anxiety and parentification behaviors. Negative interpersonal interactions specific to having a brother or sister with AN may perpetuate risk for poorer well-being. Caregivers may not be attuned to these struggles, highlighting the importance of provider and family education about sibling vulnerabilities. Therapeutic interventions that target siblings of adolescents with AN are also indicated. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level III, case-control analytic study.

Contextualizing Children's Caregiving Responses to Interparental Conflict: Advancing Assessment of Parentification.

Parentification is a parent-child dynamic in which children assume caregiving responsibilities while parents fail to support and reciprocate children's roles. There is a gap between empirical research, which typically operationalizes parentification as the occurrence of children's caregiving behaviors, and theory, which emphasizes consideration of the family context in which children engage in caregiving as well as adjustment. The present study (N=235) considered multiple operationalizations of the construct by assessing kindergarten-aged children's caregiving reactions to interparental conflict in a standardized paradigm and additionally contextualizing caregiving reactions within family context and child adjustment over time through mixture modeling approaches. Although 88% of children endorsed caregiving, contextualizing caregiving resulted in lower estimates of this phenomenon (conservatively, 30%). Moreover, contextualizing children's caregiving at the family level (i.e., within parent-child relationships) proved most informative in identifying between-family differences in within-family experiences of parentification. Despite identifying a pattern of parentification at the family level (high children's caregiving reactions in conjunction with poor parental caregiving competence and poor autonomy support), children's adjustment (externalizing, internalizing, prosocial behavior) remained in the normative range of functioning over two years, potentially suggesting child resilience to this family risk context. As such, these findings demonstrate an advancement in measuring parentification by contextualizing young children's caregiving within parent-child relationships.

Parentification Among Young Carers: A Concept Analysis.

There are approximately 1.4 million young carers in the United States alone. Being a young carer can result in parentification, a type of role reversal that occurs when children take on the roles and responsibilities of the adult. The purpose of this concept analysis is to provide a better understanding of the phenomenon of parentification among young carers through a description of its antecedents, attributes, and consequences using the steps of Rodgers' evolutionary method. The databases CINAHL, PubMed, PsycINFO, and Scopus were searched to identify 25 articles. The antecedents of the concept include the dependency of the care receiver and the child's adoption of a caregiving role. The attributes include fairness, obligation, resiliency, individuation, confidence in performing care tasks, cultural normalcy, family system functioning, support system, family resources, caregiver-care receiver relationship, and awareness of the child's needs. Parentification has both positive and negative consequences that impact the young carer. The antecedents, consequences, and identifiable attributes of the concept are presented through this work to provide a comprehensive picture of parentification among young carers. These findings showcase the multidimensional nature of parentification and the broad impact that it can have on young carers. While these findings do provide greater insight into young carers, the fact remains that little is known about this underserved and underacknowledged population. This concept analysis provides a foundation of understanding that specifies potential targets for intervention development, as well as modifiable outcomes, that can be explored through future research and intervention work.

Influences of parentification and benefit finding on prosocial behavior among typically developing siblings of individuals with autism spectrum disorder.

BACKGROUND: Prior research examining typically developing siblings (TDS) of individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) reports both higher and lower levels of prosocial behavior among TDS. TDS' experiences (parent-focused parentification, sibling-focused parentification) and perceptions of experiences (ASD benefit finding, role benefit finding) may interact to influence TDS prosocial behavior. AIMS: 1) Examine influences of TDS' experiences and perceptions of TDS experiences on prosocial behavior and 2) examine interactions between TDS' experiences of parentification and perceptions of experiences influencing prosocial behavior while controlling for the Broad Autism Phenotype (BAP). METHODS AND PROCEDURES: TDS [N = 108; M(SD) age = 20.37(1.55)] were college students who reported having a sibling with ASD, defined as "Autism Spectrum Disorder", "Autism", "Asperger's", and "Pervasive Developmental Disability". TDS completed an online survey about their experiences and perceptions of experiences. OUTCOMES AND RESULTS: Controlling for gender and BAP, there was a significant interaction between ASD benefit finding and sibling-focused parentification such that at low levels of ASD benefit finding, sibling-focused parentification negatively predicted prosocial behavior. Lower BAP scores and female gender were associated with greater levels of prosocial behavior. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: TDS experiences and perceptions of experiences are important for understanding TDS prosocial behavior.

Physical and psychological conditions of parental chronic illness, parentification and adolescent psychological adjustment.

Objective: We examined the differential predictive powers of physical and psychological impacts of parental physical illness, as well as both instrumental and emotional aspects of parentification, on adolescent distress.Design: Forty-seven parents with chronic physical illness and 132 adolescent children completed separate questionnaires that measured parental health conditions and adolescents' parentification, peer attachment, and psychological distress.Main findings: Ill parents' energy/fatigue level was not related to adolescent distress, but ill parents' emotional well-being was directly associated with adolescent distress. Adolescents' household responsibilities were not linked to their distress level; however, higher levels of emotional parentification appeared to affect their psychological adjustment. Higher quality of peer attachment was related to lower adolescent distress.Conclusions: The results highlight the importance of addressing and fostering physically ill parents' psychosocial adjustment and emotional availability, restoring a sense of normalcy in family adaptation processes, and facilitating emotional support for adolescents, including positive parent-child relationship and peer attachment.

Inversão geracional na família: repercussões da parentalização na vida adulta / Generational inversion in the family: Repercussions of parentification in adult life / Inversion générationnelle dans la famille: répercussions de la parentification dans la vie adulte / Inversión generacional en la familia: repercusiones de la parentalización en la vida adulta

Resumo Este trabalho discute o processo de inversão geracional na família, tendo como enfoque as repercussões da parentalização na vida adulta. Inicialmente, investiga-se o conceito de parentalização, das primeiras impressões no campo psicanalítico à sua configuração no campo das psicoterapias de família. Em seguida, diferencia-se a noção de parentalização destrutiva da parentalização construtiva. Posteriormente, discute-se sobre as repercussões da parentalização na vida adulta, utilizando fragmentos de casos clínicos como ilustração. Considera-se que a inversão geracional em seu espectro crônico e amplo em suas dimensões gera dificuldades significativas para a construção de uma base pessoal segura e confiante na vida adulta, repercutindo no modo como os adultos parentalizados destrutivamente se relacionam com o outro. Tais relações transitam nos extremos, do desejo de fusão e proximidade absolutas ao desejo de distância e recusa do outro, tendo a insegurança e o medo do abandono como pano de fundo.

Abstract This paper discusses the process of generational inversion within the family, focusing on the repercussions of parentification in adult life. Initially, we investigate the concept of parentification from its emergence in the field of psychoanalysis to its configuration in the field of family psychotherapy. Next, we differentiate the notion of destructive parentification from constructive parentification. Later, we discuss the repercussions of parentification in adult life, using clinical excerpts as illustration. We consider that generational inversion in its chronic aspect and full dimension leads to significant issues in the construction of a sound and confident personal foundation in adult life, affecting how adults who were negatively parentified relate with others. Such relations shift through the extremes, from the desire of fusion and absolute proximity to the desire of distance and refusal of others, and having insecurity and fear of abandonment as a background.

Résumé Cet article traite du processus d'inversion générationnelle dans la famille, basé sur les répercussions de la parentification dans la vie adulte. Tout d'abord, nous examinons le concept de parentification, depuis les premières impressions dans le champ psychanalytique jusqu'à sa configuration dans le domaine des psychothérapies familiales. Ensuite, nous différencions la notion de parentification destructrice de la parentification constructive. Puis, nous discutons les répercussions de la parentification dans la vie adulte, en utilisant des fragments de cas cliniques comme illustration. Nous considérons que l'inversion générationnelle, dans son spectre chronique et large dans ses dimensions, génère des difficultés significatives pour la construction d'une base personnelle sûre et confiante dans la vie adulte, en réfléchissant sur la façon dont les adultes parentifiés destructivement se relient les uns aux autres. De telles relations vont aux extrêmes, du désir de fusion et de proximité absolues, au désir de distance et de rejet de l'autre, avec l'insécurité et la peur de l'abandon en arrière-plan.

Resumen El presente trabajo discute el proceso de inversión generacional en la familia, enfocándose en las repercusiones de la parentalización en la vida adulta. Inicialmente, se investiga el concepto de parentalización, desde las impresiones iniciales en el campo psicoanalítico hasta su configuración en el campo de las psicoterapias de familia. En seguida, se diferencia la noción de parentalización destructiva de la parentalización constructiva. Posteriormente, se discute sobre las repercusiones de la parentalización en la vida adulta, utilizando fragmentos clínicos como ilustración. Se considera que la inversión generacional en su espectro crónico y amplio en sus dimensiones genera dificultades significativas para la construcción de una base personal segura y confiada en la vida adulta, repercutiendo en el modo cómo los adultos parentalizados destructivamente se relacionan con el otro. Estas relaciones transitan entre los extremos, del deseo de fusión y proximidad absolutas al deseo de distancia y rechazo del otro, teniendo la inseguridad y el miedo del abandono como segundo plano.

An upbringing with substance-abusing parents: Experiences of parentification and dysfunctional communication.

AIM: To increase understanding of the consequences of growing up with substance-abusing parents, including how this can influence the experience of becoming a parent. METHODS: In-depth interviews were conducted with 19 parents who had participated in an Infant and Toddler Psychiatry Unit intervention programme and who had experienced substance-abusing parents in their family of origin. Directed qualitative content analysis was used to analyse the data. RESULTS: Analysis of the interview material revealed both a high incidence of parentification and a conspiracy of silence concerning the substance abuse that helped generate symptoms of cognitive dissonance in the children. As parents they experience a high degree of inadequacy, incompetence and stress. CONCLUSION: A majority of the children who had grown up with substance-abusing parents responded by taking a parenting role for themselves, their siblings and their parents. These children, often well-behaved and seemingly competent, need to be identified and offered support as they risk developing significant psychological and emotional difficulties that can extend into adulthood. They form an extra sensitive group who may need special support up to and including the time when they become parents themselves. This finding underlines the importance of further research on parenting among those who have grown up with abusive parents.

Exploring effects of childhood parentification on adult-depressive symptoms in Korean college students.

OBJECTIVE: This study explored parentification dimensions, the age of onset, duration, and family circumstances to better understand the characteristics of parentification and its impact on depressive symptoms among Korean college students. METHOD: A sample of South Korean college students (N = 316, aged 18-29 years, 66.1% female) rated their childhood parentification experiences and current depressive symptoms. RESULTS: Overall, there were few significant differences in parentification dimensions and depressive symptoms regarding family circumstances that contributed to parentification. Longer duration and earlier onset of parentification were significantly associated with higher depressive symptom scores in adulthood. However, only perceived unfairness was associated with depressive symptoms after controlling for the age of onset, duration, and other parentification dimensions. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest the importance of examining situational contexts of parentification to better capture the effects of childhood parentification on depressive symptoms in adulthood.

A cross-sectional study on experiences of young adult carers compared to young adult noncarers: parentification, coping and resilience.

BACKGROUND: Most young carer studies on parentification, resilience and coping concentrated on child carers up to age 18 years, whereas the group of young adult caregivers (18-24 years) has been neglected. In our study, we focused on these young adult caregivers, who are in a life phase in which young people usually are distancing themselves from their families and are striving for autonomy and freedom. AIM: To explore young adult carers' perceptions of parentification, resilience and coping compared to young adult noncarers. DESIGN: Cross-sectional. METHODS: In 2014/2015, data were collected on 297 healthcare students from a school for vocational education and a university in the Netherlands. A fully structured questionnaire was used. Young adult carers were compared with young adult noncarers on parentification, resilience and coping. RESULTS: Fifty-six students identified themselves as a carer: 40 vocational education students and 16 university students. Carers scored significantly higher than noncarers on three out of six parentification dimensions. No differences were found for resilience and problem-focused coping behaviour, whereas results for emotion-focused coping demonstrated a higher score for the carers compared to the noncarers. CONCLUSION: Although it is important to take care of the needs of all young carers, special attention should be given to those who are at the start of their adult lives, undergoing extensive changes and taking major decisions on study and career issues. Home-care professionals and school counsellors should be able to recognise this group and their needs and activate support from specialised services and significant others.