Department of Psychology "Renzo Canestrari", University of Bologna, 40127 Bologna, Italy.
Laboratory of Psychosomatics and Clinimetrics, Department of Psychology, University of Bologna, 47521 Cesena, Italy.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022 Mar 13;19(6):3391. doi: 10.3390/ijerph19063391.
The mental health impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on young adult carers have been neglected. This study aimed to identify COVID-19 related risk factors for young adult carers and to investigate their mental health relative to non-carer peers. Of the 1823 Italians aged 18-29 who completed an online survey, 1458 reported no ill family member (non-carers). Young adult carers included 268 with an ill parent, and 97 with an ill non-parent family member. Two mental health outcome categories were measured: COVID-19-related (risky health behaviors, loneliness, home violence, fear of COVID-19) and general (anxiety, depression, wellbeing). Six COVID-19 related risk factors were significantly correlated with poorer mental health in young adult carers. These factors constituted a COVID-19 Context Index. Compared to non-carers, young adult carers reported poorer mental health across all outcomes, as expected. The prediction that young adult carers caring for an ill parent would report poorer mental health than those caring for ill non-parent family members was evident only for the COVID-19-related mental health outcomes. The elevated rates of clinically significant distress and pandemic-related mental health problems among young adult carers highlight this group as a priority for mental health promotion interventions and whole-of-family support across multiple sectors.
新冠疫情对年轻成年照顾者心理健康的影响被忽视了。 本研究旨在确定与新冠疫情相关的年轻成年照顾者的风险因素，并调查他们的心理健康状况与非照顾者同龄人相比的情况。在完成在线调查的 1823 名 18-29 岁意大利人中，1458 名报告其家中没有患病成员（非照顾者）。年轻成年照顾者包括 268 名照顾患病父母的人和 97 名照顾患病非亲属家庭成员的人。两个心理健康结果类别被测量：与新冠疫情相关的（危险健康行为、孤独感、家庭内暴力、对新冠疫情的恐惧）和一般的（焦虑、抑郁、幸福感）。六个与新冠疫情相关的风险因素与年轻成年照顾者较差的心理健康显著相关。这些因素构成了新冠疫情情境指数。与非照顾者相比，年轻成年照顾者在所有结果上都报告了较差的心理健康状况，这是意料之中的。照顾患病父母的年轻成年照顾者比照顾患病非亲属家庭成员的年轻成年照顾者报告更差的心理健康状况的预测仅适用于与新冠疫情相关的心理健康结果。在年轻成年照顾者中，临床显著困扰和与大流行相关的心理健康问题的发生率较高，这突出表明该群体是多个部门的心理健康促进干预和全家庭支持的优先事项。
