Berardini Yana, Chalmers Heather, Ramey Heather
Department of Child and Youth Studies, Brock University, 1812 Sir Isaac Brock Way, St. Catharines, ON L2S 3A1 Canada.
Child Adolesc Social Work J. 2021;38(5):533-545. doi: 10.1007/s10560-021-00791-8. Epub 2021 Sep 4.
Young carers (YCs) are children and youth who provide caregiving for family members who may experience an illness, disability, addiction, language barriers, and/or age-related needs. Many of them show compassion towards others and continue to put their family members' needs before their own. They also report having no time for other activities or for themselves due to the caregiving role. Self-compassion might allow YCs to be kind to themselves, be mindful of their emotions, and understand that others, like them, go through similar experiences. While the relationship between outward and inward compassion has been examined in past research, studies have yet to determine YCs' self-compassion level in the context of providing care for others. The purpose of this qualitative study was to gain a better understanding of what compassion and self-compassion meant for YCs and whether they saw themselves as self-carers in addition to being caregivers. Six focus groups with YCs ages 12 to 18 years ( = 33) were conducted. Eight boys and 26 girls were divided into younger and older focus groups. A constant comparison analysis yielded three major themes: characteristics of compassion, self-compassion in YCs, and supports for self-compassion. Overall, YCs showed continual compassion for their loved ones, but despite understanding the value of self-care and self-compassion in one's lives, very few YCs displayed self-compassion. Some reported conflicts and tensions within them and between them and their family member(s). The role of parents and YC programs were addressed as a possibility for supporting self-compassion.
青少年照顾者是指那些为可能患有疾病、残疾、成瘾、存在语言障碍和/或有与年龄相关需求的家庭成员提供照顾的儿童和青少年。他们中的许多人对他人富有同情心，并继续将家庭成员的需求置于自己的需求之上。他们还表示，由于承担照顾责任，自己没有时间参与其他活动或顾及自身。自我同情或许能让青少年照顾者善待自己，关注自己的情绪，并明白其他人也和他们一样经历着类似的事情。虽然过去的研究探讨了外在同情与内在同情之间的关系，但尚未确定青少年照顾者在照顾他人背景下的自我同情水平。这项定性研究的目的是更好地理解同情和自我同情对青少年照顾者意味着什么，以及他们除了是照顾者之外，是否将自己视为自我照顾者。研究对33名年龄在12至18岁的青少年照顾者进行了6次焦点小组访谈。8名男孩和26名女孩被分成了较年轻和较年长的焦点小组。持续比较分析得出了三个主要主题：同情的特征、青少年照顾者的自我同情以及对自我同情的支持。总体而言，青少年照顾者对他们所爱的人始终怀有同情，但尽管明白自我照顾和自我同情在生活中的价值，却很少有青少年照顾者表现出自我同情。一些人报告了自身内部以及他们与家庭成员之间的冲突和紧张关系。父母和青少年照顾者项目的作用被视为支持自我同情的一种可能性。
