Young Carers' Experiences and Mental Health Impacts

Young carers—children and young people under 25 who provide unpaid care to ill or disabled family members—constitute a significant yet often hidden population worldwide. Their responsibilities range from domestic chores to intimate personal care, and these duties can occur alongside education, social development and employment commitments. Research indicates that young carers experience elevated levels of psychological distress, anxiety and depressive symptoms compared with non-carers, with indications of poorer physical health and disrupted social opportunities. The demands of caregiving may intersect with socio-economic disadvantage, racial and ethnic minority status, and limited access to formal support services, exacerbating mental health burdens. Furthermore, exposure to adverse experiences—such as school bullying and pandemic-related disruptions—can compound emotional strain. At the same time, young carers demonstrate resilience, resourcefulness and goal orientation, suggesting that tailored interventions, including school-based anti-bullying programmes, targeted counselling and coordinated multi-agency support, can mitigate negative outcomes and harness adaptive coping strategies. Adolescents’ experiences often follow a caregiving trajectory characterised by initial role adoption, active care provision and eventual transition beyond caregiving, highlighting the need for continuous, stage-specific support that spans health, education and social care sectors.

Research from Nature Portfolio

Recent studies have quantified how school bullying contributes to psychological distress among young carers, revealing that adolescents who undertake moderate-to-heavy caring duties report higher scores on distress scales. Mediation analysis demonstrated that approximately one quarter of this distress can be attributed to bullying victimisation, suggesting that interventions targeting school environments may alleviate a significant portion of mental health burden. The findings underscore the potential for anti-bullying strategies to serve as a focused point of intervention in wider support frameworks for young carers.

Young Carers' Experiences and Mental Health Impacts publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in young carers' experiences and mental health impacts across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Young carer: A child or young person up to 25 years who provides unpaid care to a family member or friend with health, disability or age-related needs.

Mediation analysis: A statistical method that separates the effect of an initial exposure on an outcome into direct pathways and indirect pathways through a mediating variable.

Systematic review: A structured approach to identify, appraise and synthesise research findings from multiple studies on a specific topic.

Meta-ethnography: A qualitative synthesis technique that translates and interprets concepts across studies to generate new insights or theoretical frameworks.

References

1. The experiences and impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on young carers: practice implications and planning for future health emergencies. Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health (2024).
2. The mental health impact of school bullying among young carers in Australia: a causal mediation analysis. Scientific Reports (2023).
3. The mental and physical health of young carers: a systematic review. The Lancet Public Health (2022).
4. The Young Carers’ Journey: A Systematic Review and Meta Ethnography. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (2022).