Informal Caregiving in Adolescents from 10 to 16 Years Old: A Longitudinal Study Using Data from the Tokyo Teen Cohort

Abstract

There is growing evidence of the impact of informal caregiving on adolescent mental health, and its role is often hidden unintentionally or intentionally, which may hamper early identification and support for young informal caregivers. However, the quantitative evidence regarding household factors relating to informal caregiving has mostly been based on cross-sectional findings. This study examines the longitudinal associations between household characteristics and the duration of informal caregiving in adolescents from 10 to 16 years of age. Child–household respondent pairs (n = 2331) from the Tokyo Teen Cohort in Japan were followed every 2 years from 10 to 16 years of age. Informal caregiving was assessed repeatedly based on the household respondent’s survey responses. Persistent caregiving was defined as daily caregiving at two or more waves. There were 2.2% of children who gave daily care at two or more waves. Cross-sectional associations with daily informal caregiving at each wave were found with girls, low household income, and cohabiting with grandparents. A significant association with persistent caregiving was found only in cohabiting with grandparents at 10 years of age after adjusting for sex, number of siblings, single parent, and household income. Our longitudinal examination highlighted cohabiting with grandparents as a preceding factor for persistent caregiving. Identification and support for young informal caregivers should be integrated into social care service systems for older adults. The mechanism of persistent caregiving requires clarification.