Children as adults: A phenomenological inquiry into the process of parentification

The current study is a culmination of two projects examining the phenomenon of parentification; one reviews the current literature and the other examines the lived experiences of five people who were parentified. The literature presented provides a look at where the concept originated, how it has been operationalized, and what affects this family event has. The literature provided insight into ways parentification has been divided into types based on what roles were assumed. Additionally, the literature showed that researchers have found both positive and negative outcomes of this experience. Next, an empirical paper is presented which qualitatively explored the lives of five women who have been parentified using Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis (IPA). Participants were recruited from clients seeing local mental health professionals. Interviews about the parentification experience were conducted, transcribed, and analyzed for shared themes. Clinical implications and future research ideas were presented. The aim of this project is to add to the current body of research on parentification.