Department of Nursing Science, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
Res Nurs Health. 2020 Dec;43(6):629-639. doi: 10.1002/nur.22085. Epub 2020 Oct 30.
Caring for their chronically ill or disabled family members is a responsibility that may be assumed by children and adolescents ("young carers") and may affect young carers' lives in many ways. Some young carers may experience long-term adverse health effects related to their early caring responsibilities and others may demonstrate healthy adaptation. Little research applying nonretrospective designs, however, has been done from the perspective of young carers regarding the psychosocial resources that enable them to handle the responsibility of caring for chronically ill or disabled family members. The aim of the present study, therefore, was to identify psychosocial resources used by young carers in Austria. Ten children and adolescents (aged 9-17) took photographs to illustrate their everyday lives. The photographs were then used to guide subsequent interviews. Data were analyzed following the principles of directed qualitative content analysis and using the theoretical lens of resilience. We identified two sets of psychosocial resources: (1) Personal resources comprising (a) being able to spend leisure time and (b) finding distraction from sorrows and problems. (2) Interpersonal resources comprising (a) fostering meaningful friendships, (b) receiving support from the family, and (c) bonding with the ill or disabled family member. Young carers largely have the same repertoire of resources as other children and can use them specifically to respond to the care burden. Interventions to support young carers must focus on promoting peer contact and cohesion within the nuclear family as well as bonding with the ill or disabled relative.
照顾患有慢性病或残疾的家庭成员是儿童和青少年（“年轻照顾者”）可能承担的责任，这可能会在许多方面影响年轻照顾者的生活。一些年轻的照顾者可能会因早期照顾责任而长期遭受不良健康影响，而另一些照顾者则可能表现出健康的适应能力。然而，很少有应用非回顾性设计的研究从年轻照顾者的角度探讨使他们能够承担照顾慢性病或残疾家庭成员责任的心理社会资源。因此，本研究的目的是确定奥地利年轻照顾者使用的心理社会资源。十名 9-17 岁的儿童和青少年拍摄了照片来描述他们的日常生活。然后，这些照片被用来指导随后的访谈。数据是按照定向定性内容分析的原则，使用韧性理论视角进行分析的。我们确定了两组心理社会资源：（1）个人资源，包括（a）能够度过闲暇时间，（b）从悲伤和问题中找到分散注意力的方法。（2）人际资源，包括（a）培养有意义的友谊，（b）获得家庭的支持，以及（c）与患病或残疾的家庭成员建立联系。年轻的照顾者与其他孩子一样，拥有相同的资源储备，并且可以专门使用这些资源来应对照顾负担。支持年轻照顾者的干预措施必须侧重于促进核心家庭内的同伴接触和凝聚力，以及与患病或残疾的亲属建立联系。
