Parentyfikacja w rodzinie w doświadczeniach młodych dorosłych
Parentification in the family. From the experience of young adults

Summary/Abstract: The family, which constitutes a natural rearing environment for each new generation, does not always play the roles or execute tasks set to it in a proper way. Chance events or dysfunctions cause the roles to be reversed, that is it is children who take over the tasks designed for adults. This is referred to using the term parentification. The aim of the studies was to find out about the experience connected with parentification, which the young go through in their childhoods, from the perspective of young adults. The studies were conducted among students of Opole University and covered 300 subjects who took part in them. The respondents, who have experienced or were experiencing the inversion of roles in their families, have become stronger, more responsible and resourceful, as well as have gained new skills which are useful in life. For the major part of their lives such individuals excessively devote themselves to others, without thinking about satisfying their own needs. Thus, this is a problem area, which should be of scholarly interest to pedagogues and adult educators (andragogues), since parentification can exert a considerable influence on the individuals’ adjustment to and functioning in their adult lives in the future.

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