• To enhance your awareness of adultification and which groups are most at risk of it
• To understand the risk factors and harmful effects associated with adultification
• To identify strategies that you could use in your practice to prevent adultification
Adultification, whereby children and young people are perceived as older or more mature than they actually are, disproportionately affects those from minority ethnic backgrounds. It can also occur in other contexts, for example when children and young people are placed in a position of adult responsibility. Nurses have a duty to support and protect children and young people, which includes protecting them from adultification and the negative effects it can have on health and well-being. This article discusses strategies nurses can use to prevent adultification – such as developing awareness, avoiding adultifying language and listening to children and young people – and actions to take when suspecting adultification from colleagues.
Nursing Children and Young People. doi: 10.7748/ncyp.2023.e1488
Peer reviewThis article has been subject to open peer review and checked for plagiarism using automated software
Correspondence Conflict of interestNone declared
Hayward M, Critcher J (2023) Adultification: risk factors, harmful effects and implications for nursing practice. Nursing Children and Young People. doi: 10.7748/ncyp.2023.e1488
Published online: 02 October 2023
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