Intergenerational Mentoring to Reduce Loneliness and Improve Well-Being in Seniors and Youth from Families with Mental Illness

What this Trial Is About

The GemsE project investigates whether intergenerational mentoring between seniors and children or young people from families with mentally ill parents helps reduce loneliness and improve mental well-being and quality of life. This interventional study focuses on building stable, voluntary relationships that can benefit both age groups. Approximately 40 seniors and 40 children or adolescents will participate, aiming to provide social support and integration through these mentoring connections. Participants in the study form tandems that meet weekly for six months. These meetings include joint activities such as playing games, learning, cooking, or going for walks, fostering trust, shared experiences, and cooperation between seniors and children or young people. The project coordinators support and accompany participants throughout the process to help manage these mentoring relationships effectively. Throughout the study, researchers will measure changes in loneliness, mental well-being, and health-related quality of life using standardized questionnaires. These assessments will be conducted from the start of the mentoring period to six months later. The results aim to provide insights on how intergenerational sponsorships can be successfully organized and incorporated into psychosocial care services, with the study lasting from September 2026 to December 2026.

Creating Encounters Between Generations - Together Instead of Alone (GemsE)