“Understanding” as Support for Emerging Adults Whose Parents Have Chronic Health Conditions: A Life-Span Communication Perspective

Young adult carers' identification, characteristics, and support: A systematic review

“…During full-text screening, 17 studies were excluded for the following reasons: thesis that became the subject of published articles ( n = 2; Abraham, 2010 ; Joshi, 2014 ); studies on young adults who had an ill/disabled relative but were not identified as providing informal care ( n = 7; Abraham and Stein, 2013 , 2015 ; Mechling, 2015 ; Petrowski, 2015 ; Hinojosa et al, 2018 ; Nuttall, 2018 ); a study on young adults identified as YAC but without an ill/disabled relative (van der Werf et al, 2020b ); studies exploring young adults' willingness to serve as informal caregivers in the future ( n = 4; Alva, 2013 ; Joshi et al, 2015 ; Trujillo et al, 2016 ; van der Werf et al, 2020a ); studies about economic or life transitions that did not discuss YAC specifically ( n = 2; González-Arnal and Kilkey, 2009 ; Day, 2015b ); and a study protocol (Leu et al, 2018 ). As a result, 23 studies were included in this review (Levine et al, 2005 ; Mancini et al, 2006 ; Becker and Becker, 2008a , b ; Cass et al, 2011 ; Hamilton and Adamson, 2013 ; Struckmeyer, 2013 ; Day, 2015a , 2019 ; Greene et al, 2017 ; Lewis, 2017 ; Thompson et al, 2017 ; Boumans and Dorant, 2018 ; Jones, 2018 ; Kettell, 2018 ; Leu et al, 2018 ; Canell and Caskie, 2019 , 2020 ; Canell et al, 2020 ; Grenard et al, 2020 ; Haugland et al, 2020 ; Joseph et al, 2020 ; Kent, 2020 ). See Figure 1 for the PRISMA flow diagram and Supplementary material 2 for the list of studies included in the review.…”

“…In that way, YAC could care for multiple family members (Becker and Becker, 2008b ; Lewis, 2017 ). Generally, the care receiver was a parent or a grandparent (Greene et al, 2017 ; Lewis, 2017 ; Boumans and Dorant, 2018 ; Canell and Caskie, 2019 , 2020 ; Canell et al, 2020 ), mostly a mother or a grandmother (Levine et al, 2005 ; Becker and Becker, 2008a ; Thompson et al, 2017 ). The care receivers could also be part of the immediate family or a close personal friendship like an aunt or uncle, sibling, partner, own child, best friend, or neighbor (Becker and Becker, 2008a ; Cass et al, 2011 ; Struckmeyer, 2013 ; Lewis, 2017 ; Boumans and Dorant, 2018 ; Canell and Caskie, 2019 ; Canell et al, 2020 ).…”

“…Only one study was conducted about a specific illness or disability (i.e., breast cancer; Mancini et al, 2006 ). Chronic disease could be arthritis, dementia, Alzheimer's disease, Huntington's disease, Parkinson's disease, Lewy body dementia, cancer, multiple sclerosis, diabetes, or hypertension (Mancini et al, 2006 ; Thompson et al, 2017 ; Jones, 2018 ; Kettell, 2018 ; Canell and Caskie, 2019 , 2020 ; Day, 2019 ; Canell et al, 2020 ). Physical disability could be related to a general decline due to age or to paraplegia, muscular dystrophy, cerebral palsy, or limited mobility (Cass et al, 2011 ; Canell and Caskie, 2019 ; Day, 2019 ; Canell et al, 2020 ).…”

“…Physical disability could be related to a general decline due to age or to paraplegia, muscular dystrophy, cerebral palsy, or limited mobility (Cass et al, 2011 ; Canell and Caskie, 2019 ; Day, 2019 ; Canell et al, 2020 ). Mental disorder could be depression as well as other mental illnesses like bipolar disorder or autism (Thompson et al, 2017 ; Jones, 2018 ; Kettell, 2018 ; Canell and Caskie, 2019 ; Day, 2019 ; Canell et al, 2020 ). Some studies did not clearly identify the care receiver's illness or disability (Becker and Becker, 2008a ; Hamilton and Adamson, 2013 ; Lewis, 2017 ; Boumans and Dorant, 2018 ; Leu et al, 2018 ; Haugland et al, 2020 ).…”

“…caregivers in the future (n = 4; Alva, 2013;Joshi et al, 2015;Trujillo et al, 2016;van der Werf et al, 2020a); studies about economic or life transitions that did not discuss YAC specifically (n = 2; González-Arnal and Kilkey, 2009;Day, 2015b); and a study protocol (Leu et al, 2018). As a result, 23 studies were included in this review (Levine et al, 2005;Mancini et al, 2006;Becker and Becker, 2008a,b;Cass et al, 2011;Hamilton and Adamson, 2013;Struckmeyer, 2013;Day, 2015aDay, , 2019Greene et al, 2017;Lewis, 2017;Thompson et al, 2017;Boumans and Dorant, 2018;Jones, 2018;Kettell, 2018;Leu et al, 2018;Caskie, 2019, 2020;Grenard et al, 2020;Haugland et al, 2020;Joseph et al, 2020;Kent, 2020). See Figure 1 for the PRISMA flow diagram and Supplementary material 2 for the list of studies included in the review.…”