The research

Caregivers: mental stress affects more than 9 out of 10 members of the ‘Sandwich Generation’

The issue of mental health is emerging as one of the most significant social challenges for the future of family welfare, and it affects women in particular

by Health Editorial Team

16 June 2026

3' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

Key points

80% put off personal commitments
Mental stress affecting almost all families
Focus on women and mental wellbeing

3' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

The Sandwich Generation – comprising people who find themselves simultaneously supporting children, elderly parents or other family members – faces a daily life marked by constant organisational pressure. Ninety per cent believe that unexpected care-related issues frequently disrupt family life, whilst 62 per cent of parents in this group say they have, at least on some occasions, found themselves unsure of how to manage their children’s care needs. The issue of ‘time poverty’ and the resulting stress for carers is one of the alarm bells sounded by the research report ‘Domestic Care Work – The Sandwich Generation’, commissioned by Nuova Collaborazione, the National Association of Domestic Employers, and carried out by Ipsos Doxa.

80% put personal commitments on hold

When support networks are insufficient, the first thing to be sacrificed is often personal time. 80% have had to postpone or cancel personal commitments to meet care needs, 69% have asked relatives for help, and 56% have reduced or temporarily suspended their work.

These consequences have a direct impact on individual well-being. 72% of the Sandwich Generation say that, over the last three months, they have felt they did not have enough time for themselves, whilst 67% say they have felt overwhelmed by their care responsibilities.

Mental stress affecting almost all families

It is therefore not surprising that 92% of those surveyed believe that managing care can cause mental stress for families. Care thus appears to be a responsibility that not only drains financial resources but, above all, takes up time: time for rest, for relationships, for social life and for one’s own psychological wellbeing. It is a form of poverty that is less visible than financial poverty, but just as capable of affecting people’s quality of life.

“We decided to carry out this research because we felt a responsibility to give a voice to a social transformation that today affects millions of Italian families but which, all too often, remains invisible in the public debate,” says Alfredo Savia, President of Nuova Collaborazione. Today, more and more people, in the prime of their working lives, find themselves simultaneously juggling the care of children, elderly parents and professional responsibilities, often without adequate support. This situation affects their work, their income, their mental well-being and the quality of life of their families. An ageing population, rising levels of dependency and the decline of traditional family networks are making domestic and care work an increasingly indispensable part of our welfare system. For this reason, we believe it is necessary to foster greater cultural and institutional awareness of the social value of care, so that families are not left to cope alone and care work is finally recognised as a genuine part of the country’s social infrastructure.”

Focus on women and mental wellbeing

Some data on mental wellbeing suggest that particular attention should be paid to women’s circumstances. In the overall sample, 52 per cent of men rate their mental wellbeing as very positive, whilst among women the figure drops to 22 per cent. At the same time, the average mental wellbeing score recorded amongst members of the Sandwich Generation is lower than that of the total sample (6.8 compared with 7.1).

These factors highlight how the issue of care must also be viewed through the prism of psychological wellbeing, all the more so when the burden of care has a significant impact on the life of a woman who takes on the responsibility of caring for her family on a more frequent and ongoing basis.

In a context where families continue to shoulder the bulk of care work and where care responsibilities take up personal time for the vast majority of carers, the issue of mental health is emerging as one of the most significant social challenges for the future of family welfare.

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