Parentification, the process wherein children assume adult-like responsibilities within the family, remains an underexplored phenomenon in the Filipino context despite its cultural relevance. While literature has documented the outcomes of parentification as adaptive and maladaptive, there is limited knowledge regarding how young adults experiencing psychological distress navigate and understand this process. This study used Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) to examine the lived experiences of nine Filipino young adults who assumed significant familial responsibilities early in their developmental years. Individual semi-structured interviews were conducted and analyzed to capture the participants’ descriptive accounts and interpretative insights into how these experiences shaped their identities, emotions, and aspirations for the future. Four superordinate themes were identified: (1) When Childhood Vanishes into Duty, capturing Childhood Exchanged for Duty, and Becoming the Self Shaped by Parentification; (2) Carrying Invisible Wounds, highlighting Longing for Care While Giving It, The Weight that No One Sees, and Bound by Love, Bruised By Duty; (3) Weaving Fragments into Meaning, which revealed participants’ Survival in Fragments, Turning Weight into Worth, and Drawing Meaning from Belief and Belonging; and (4) Dreaming Beyond the Inherited Script, reflecting Negotiating the In-Between: From Tension to Liberation, and Dreaming Towards a Different Future. The findings illuminate the dual nature of parentification as both disruptive and formative, with long-term implications for identity, emotional well-being, and agency. By situating these experiences within the Filipino cultural setting, this study emphasizes the need to acknowledge hidden caregiving labor and its psychological effects while recognizing resilience and meaning-making processes that emerge from such experiences. These findings provide a nuanced understanding of how parentification operates in Filipino families, offering insights that can inform counseling practices to validate these hidden struggles and guide family support systems to recognize invisible labor and shape culturally responsive interventions that balance familial responsibility with individual well-being.

Keywords: parentification, role reversal, parentified young adult, caregiving, coping, Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA)