Psychosocial adversities in adulthood among individuals raised with family members with disabilities

Anna Amilon, Stine Vernstrøm Østergaard and Rikke Fuglsang Olsen

Social Science & Medicine, 2025, vol. 372, issue C

Abstract: Despite millions of individuals worldwide growing up with family members who have disabilities, little is known about how this experience is associated with long-term outcomes. We address this gap by examining how growing up with a parent and/or sibling with a disability is associated with individuals’ psychosocial situation in adulthood. Using retrospective information from the 2020 wave of the Survey of Health, Impairment and Living Conditions in Denmark (SHILD, N = 15,699), we explore how growing up in a family with disability is associated with loneliness, socialsupport, general self-efficacy, subjective well-being, and feelings of resentment in adulthood. Our results from linear probability models suggest that growing up with a parent and/or sibling with a disability increases the likelihood of experiencing loneliness, low subjective well-being, and reduced self-efficacy. Additionally, we find that individuals who grow up in a family with disability are more likely to report a lack of social support and heightened feelings of resentment. We conclude that growing up with a parent and/or sibling with a disability is associated with a wide range of psychosocial adversities in adulthood. However, having a disability oneself is even more detrimental for psychosocial outcomes. These findings highlight the need for strengthened support for families with disabilities to improve psychosocial outcomes and break cycles of intergenerational disadvantage.

Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2025.118016

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