Haugland Bente Storm Mowatt, Hysing Mari, Sivertsen Børge
Department of Clinical Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway.
Department of Psychosocial Science, Faculty of Psychology, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway.
Front Psychol. 2020 Jan 23;10:2859. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02859. eCollection 2019.
The aim of the present study was to examine prevalence, characteristics and health outcomes among young adults (18 to 25 years) who provide informal care to family members or others with physical or mental illnesses, substance misuse or disabilities.
The sample was obtained from a national survey in Norway from 2018 among students in higher education (the SHoT2018-study). The current sample comprise 40,205 participants, 70.2% women, mean age 22 years ( = 1.7).
Participants answered questions on care responsibilities, mental health problems (The Hopkins Symptoms Checklist-25), insomnia (sleep questionnaire), somatic health (Somatic Symptom Scale-8), and life satisfaction (Satisfaction With Life Scale).
5.5% of the respondents reported having care responsibilities. Caring was associated with being female, single, having divorced parents, being an immigrant, and having financial difficulties. More mental health problems, insomnia, somatic symptoms, and lower life satisfaction were found among respondents with care responsibilities. Number of hours of caring was associated with negative health outcomes in a dose-response pattern.
Professionals within health care, social services and the educational system should be sensitized to the needs of young adults with care responsibilities for family members or others with illness, substance misuse, or disabilities. The negative health problems among these young adult carers (YACs) should be acknowledged, and adequate support made available.
本研究旨在调查为患有身体或精神疾病、药物滥用或残疾的家庭成员或其他人提供非正式护理的年轻人（18至25岁）的患病率、特征和健康状况。
样本取自2018年挪威对高等教育学生进行的一项全国性调查（SHoT2018研究）。当前样本包括40205名参与者，其中70.2%为女性，平均年龄22岁（标准差=1.7）。
参与者回答了有关护理责任、心理健康问题（《霍普金斯症状清单-25》）、失眠（睡眠问卷）、躯体健康（躯体症状量表-8）和生活满意度（生活满意度量表）的问题。
5.5%的受访者报告有护理责任。护理与女性、单身、父母离异、移民身份以及经济困难有关。有护理责任的受访者中发现更多的心理健康问题、失眠、躯体症状以及更低的生活满意度。护理时长与负面健康状况呈剂量反应关系。
医疗保健、社会服务和教育系统的专业人员应提高对为家庭成员或患有疾病、药物滥用或残疾的其他人承担护理责任的年轻人需求的敏感度。应认识到这些年轻护理者（YACs）存在的负面健康问题，并提供充分的支持。
