THE EFFECTS OF BEING THE OLDEST DAUGHTER AND A CARETAKER

In many households, oldest daughters are a pivotal person as they have many responsibilities. One of the main responsibilities is caretaking their younger siblings. These young women are responsible for child rearing, nurturing, educating and guiding their younger siblings, essentially becoming a parental figure. While this is an issue in many households, it is not thoroughly discussed within the research field. The purpose of this study is to examine how oldest daughters are affected by becoming a caretaker for their younger siblings and how it results in these young girls having a negative impact in their well-being that results in emotional and behavioral instability. This proposed quantitative study is a questionnaire to evaluate the assumed responsibilities of the oldest daughter, the amount of time and effort placed into the role, and how it affected their mental well-being. This study is designed to inform social workers of the issue and its impact to better their understanding of the issue to support these women affected by their responsibilities as a caretaker.