Middle School Student Responses to Family Health Questions: The Effects of Family Caregiving on the Education of Middle School Students with Family Health Issues

More than currently recognized, family health situations, often compounded with family caregiving responsibilities, affect students\u27 learning and academic performance. Three out of five middle school children (n=3,848) from a large, socio-economically and culturally diverse population sample, responded to the 88-question What Works Survey conducted in 2002, and indicated that someone needing special medical care lived either with them or close by them. Nearly two of five of these students (38.6%) documented that their learning is hindered as a result of their family health/caregiving situation. Among students with family health situations who reported hindered learning, only students who are Asian-Pacific Islanders (n=151) showed less likelihood of both participation in caregiving activities, and negative ramifications on academic performance. Within the middle school sample, more than one in two students (n=3,534) reported that they perform various family caregiving activities. Of these, 2,267 students, of whom 1,323 were boys (58.4%), responded that their participation in assisting the person needing special medical care, adversely affected their academic performance. Children reported that they missed school and/or after school activities, did not complete their homework assignments, and/or were interrupted in their thinking/studying. The dual role of student and young caregiver is ubiquitous; however, minority youth in Title I schools are both statistically significantly (p\u3c.001) most likely to be young caregivers, and most likely to incur adverse effects. The academic performance of young caregiver students who are affected represents 37.6% of the whole sample of 6,030 students in grades 6, 7, or 8 in 35 Palm Beach County, Florida public middle schools

Medication administration by caregiving youth: An inside look at how adolescents manage medications for family members

Children take on the role of family caregiver throughout the world. No prior published research exists surrounding the particular circumstances of the task of medication administration and management by these youth, which was explored in this study. A series of focus groups were conducted using semi-structured interviews of 28 previously identified caregiving youth ages 12–19 years old who live in the United States. Data analysis followed guidelines of conventional content analysis. The following categories emerged about youth caregivers handling medications: 1) tasks involve organizational and administrative responsibilities; 2) youth have varying degrees of knowledge pertaining to these medications; 3) most share responsibility with other family members; 4) they lack formal education about their responsibilities; 5) multiple challenges exist relating to this task; 6) managing medications is associated with emotional responses; and 7) possible safety issues exist. These responsibilities represent a unique hardship and merit support and research from the medical, healthcare, legislative, and public health communities, among others

The United States should recognize and support caregiving youth

In the United States, more than 5.4 million children and adolescents under age 18 provide care for family members who are aging or have chronic illness, disability, or other health conditions that require assistance. In this policy report, we describe youth’s care for the family, and highlight the increasing prevalence, global challenges, and uneven successes of measurement and categorization. We briefly summarize research on how caregiving affects youth’s academic, social, and emotional well‐being. Next, we present novel, emerging evidence from the public school‐based 2019 Youth Risk Behavior Survey for the State of Florida, which suggests that as many as 24% of middle school students and 16% of high school students provide at least some care to the family on a regular basis. Drawing on this evidence, we discuss targeted social programs which have been shown to promote the well‐being of caregiving youth outside of the United States, as well as a 13‐year‐old school‐based intervention in The School District of Palm Beach County, Florida. We conclude with specific recommendations for a path toward recognizing and supporting caregiving youth via policy and practice in the United States. Our aim is to increase the awareness and feasibility of identifying and supporting caregiving youth and their families via government‐organized data collection and targeted social policies

Middle and High School Students Who Take Care of Siblings, Parents, and Grandparents: Associations With School Engagement, Belonging, and Well-Being

This partnership-based study identified how many middle and high school students take care of parents, siblings, and grandparents at home, via student surveys across Rhode Island public schools (N = 48,508; 46% White non-Latinx; 21% Latinx; 47% girls). Further, we investigated how students’ caregiving for family related to their school engagement, belonging, and emotional well-being. A sizable proportion of students reported caring for family for part (29%) or most of the day (7%). Girls and Black, Asian, Latinx, Native, and multiracial youth were more likely to care for family, compared to boys and White non-Latinx youth. Caregiving students from all demographics were more likely to experience intense sadness compared to noncaregivers, revealing a need to support caregiving youth in schools. In addition, caregiving girls reported lower levels of school engagement and school belonging. However, caregiving for part of the day was related to greater belonging among Black and Native youth. </jats:p