Research Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University College London, London, UK.
J Adolesc. 2023 Oct;95(7):1293-1310. doi: 10.1002/jad.12202. Epub 2023 Jun 10.
Young adult caregivers (aged 16-29 years) are an important but underrecognized group of informal caregivers. There is some evidence suggesting that young adult caregivers have fewer social relationships. However, this research has been largely cross-sectional in design or restricted to caregivers, providing no comparison with noncaregivers. Further, there is little evidence on whether and to what extent there are inequalities in associations between young adult caregiving and social relationships by gender, age, caregiving intensity, or household income.
Using five waves of data on 3-4000 young adults aged 16-29 from the UK Household Longitudinal Study, we investigated associations between becoming a young adult caregiver and subsequent social relationships (number of close friends and participation in organized social activities) in the short-term (1-2 years after caregiving initiation) and longer-term (4-5 years later). We also assessed differences by gender, age, household income, and caregiving intensity.
Overall, those who became young adult caregivers, and particularly those providing 5+ h/week, reported fewer friends in the short- but not longer-term. No associations were observed between young adult caregiving and participation in organized social activities. Also, there was no evidence of differences by gender, age, income, or caregiving hours.
Becoming a young adult caregiver is associated with a reduction in number of close friends, particularly in the short-term. Given the importance of practical and emotional support provided by friends, the early identification of young adult caregivers and greater population awareness of caring in young adulthood may help to mitigate the effects on social relationships.
年轻成年照顾者（16-29 岁）是一个重要但未被充分认识的非正式照顾者群体。有一些证据表明，年轻成年照顾者的社交关系较少。然而，这项研究在很大程度上是横断面设计，或者仅限于照顾者，没有与非照顾者进行比较。此外，关于年轻成年照顾者与社会关系之间是否存在不平等以及这种不平等在多大程度上存在，以及是否存在性别、年龄、照顾强度或家庭收入的差异，证据很少。
我们使用来自英国家庭纵向研究的五波数据，调查了 3000-4000 名 16-29 岁的年轻成年人在短期内（照顾开始后 1-2 年）和长期（4-5 年后）成为年轻成年照顾者后与随后的社会关系（亲密朋友的数量和参加有组织的社交活动）之间的关联。我们还评估了性别、年龄、家庭收入和照顾强度的差异。
总体而言，那些成为年轻成年照顾者的人，特别是那些每周提供 5 小时以上照顾的人，在短期报告中朋友较少，但在长期报告中则没有。年轻成年照顾与参加有组织的社交活动之间没有关联。此外，性别、年龄、收入或照顾时间没有差异的证据。
成为年轻成年照顾者与亲密朋友数量的减少有关，尤其是在短期。鉴于朋友提供的实际和情感支持的重要性，早期识别年轻成年照顾者并提高公众对成年早期照顾的认识，可能有助于减轻对社会关系的影响。
