Department of Clinical Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, University of Bergen, Årstadveien 17, 5009, Bergen, Norway.
Department of Psychosocial Science, Faculty of Psychology, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway.
BMC Psychol. 2022 Feb 26;10(1):43. doi: 10.1186/s40359-022-00760-5.
Young adults (18-25 years) with informal care responsibilities have received limited attention in the research literature, and little is known on how caring responsibilities are related to functioning across different life domains. In the present study we examine associations between care responsibilities and study progress, recreational life, and loneliness in young adults in higher education.
A national survey was conducted among Norwegian students in higher education (the SHoT2018-study). The response rate was 30.8%. The current sample is a subsample of the respondents, including young adults 18 to 25 years old, comprising 40.205 participants (70.2% women, mean age 22.0 years, SD = 1.7). Participants reported whether they had regular care responsibility for someone with physical or mental illness, disabilities, or substance misuse. They also answered questions on study progress, number of hours studying, physical exercise, involvement in organized volunteer student activities, number of close friends, and feelings of loneliness. Data were analyzed by Chi-square tests and logistic regression analyses, adjusting for age, sex, and chronic illness.
Compared to students without care responsibility, young adult carers (n = 2228, 5.5% of study sample) were more likely to report delayed study progress (OR 1.20, p < .001), higher average number of failed exams (e.g., having failed three times or more, OR 1.31, p = .002), more feelings of loneliness (OR 1.26, p < .001), and slightly fewer friends. Those with limited care responsibility (≤ 1 h daily) were more likely to participate in organized volunteer student activities, whereas students with 2 h or more of caring per day were less likely to participate in leisure student activities. Both study progress and feelings of loneliness were related to care responsibility in a response-dose pattern, with worse outcomes for those with 2 h or more of daily caring responsibility. All comparisons were adjusted for age, sex, and chronic illness.
Study progress, recreational activities, and loneliness among young adults are associated with informal caring responsibilities. Professionals in the educational system as well as health personnel should be sensitized to the needs of young adult carers and necessary support made available.
年轻成年人（18-25 岁）承担非正式照护责任的情况在研究文献中受到的关注有限，对于照护责任与不同生活领域的功能之间的关系知之甚少。本研究旨在探讨年轻成年人在高等教育中承担照护责任与学习进展、娱乐生活和孤独感之间的关系。
在挪威高等教育学生中开展了一项全国性调查（SHoT2018 研究）。回应率为 30.8%。本研究的样本是回应者的一个子样本，包括 18 至 25 岁的年轻成年人，共包含 40205 名参与者（70.2%为女性，平均年龄 22.0 岁，标准差=1.7）。参与者报告了他们是否定期照顾患有身体或精神疾病、残疾或药物滥用的人。他们还回答了关于学习进展、学习时间、体育锻炼、参与有组织的志愿者学生活动、亲密朋友数量和孤独感的问题。采用卡方检验和逻辑回归分析进行数据分析，调整了年龄、性别和慢性病因素。
与无照护责任的学生相比，年轻成年照护者（n=2228，占研究样本的 5.5%）更有可能报告学习进展延迟（比值比 1.20，p<0.001）、平均考试失败次数更多（例如，已失败三次或以上，比值比 1.31，p=0.002）、孤独感更强烈（比值比 1.26，p<0.001），且朋友较少。每日照护责任≤1 小时的人更有可能参加有组织的志愿者学生活动，而每天照护 2 小时或以上的人参加休闲学生活动的可能性较小。学习进展和孤独感都与照护责任呈反应剂量关系，每日照护责任 2 小时或以上的人结局更差。所有比较均调整了年龄、性别和慢性病因素。
年轻成年人的学习进展、娱乐活动和孤独感与非正式照护责任有关。教育系统和卫生人员的专业人员应意识到年轻成年照护者的需求，并提供必要的支持。
