Darabos Katie, Faust Haley
Department of Health Behavior, Society, and Policy, Rutgers School of Public Health, Piscataway, NJ, USA.
Department of Behavioral Oncology Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
Psychol Health Med. 2023 Jul-Dec;28(8):2249-2260. doi: 10.1080/13548506.2023.2195671. Epub 2023 Mar 28.
Young adult caregivers (YACs) are faced with the atypical challenge of providing informal (i.e. not paid) care to a family member, while simultaneously at a critical developmental stage in which many major life decisions and milestones are taking place. Adding the challenge of caring for a family member during this already complex time period may have a detrimental impact on young adults' (YAs) own overall health and well-being. The aim of this study was to examine differences in overall health, psychological distress, and financial strain among a propensity matched sample of YACs compared to young adult non-caregivers (YANCs) from a nationally representative database and to examine differences in these outcomes by caregiving role (caring for a child vs. other family member). YAs (aged 18-39, = 178) identifying as a caregiver ( = 74) were matched with YANCs ( = 74) on age, gender, and race. Results revealed that YACs exhibited higher psychological distress, lower overall health and more sleep disturbance and higher financial strain compared to YANCs. YAs caring for family members other than children also reported higher anxiety and fewer hours spent caregiving compared to YAs caring for a child. YACs appear to be at risk for impairments in health and well-being compared to their matched peers. Longitudinal research is needed to understand how caregiving during young adulthood impacts health and well-being across time.
年轻成年照顾者（YACs）面临着非比寻常的挑战，即在关键的发育阶段为家庭成员提供非正式（即无报酬）照顾，而这一阶段正发生着许多重大的人生决策和里程碑事件。在这个本就复杂的时期增加照顾家庭成员的挑战，可能会对年轻人（YAs）自身的整体健康和幸福产生不利影响。本研究的目的是，在一个全国代表性数据库中，比较倾向匹配的年轻成年照顾者样本与年轻成年非照顾者（YANCs）在整体健康、心理困扰和经济压力方面的差异，并按照顾角色（照顾孩子与照顾其他家庭成员）研究这些结果的差异。将自认为是照顾者（n = 74）的18至39岁年轻人（n = 178），在年龄、性别和种族方面与年轻成年非照顾者（n = 74）进行匹配。结果显示，与年轻成年非照顾者相比，年轻成年照顾者表现出更高的心理困扰、更低的整体健康水平、更多的睡眠障碍以及更高的经济压力。与照顾孩子的年轻人相比，照顾孩子以外家庭成员的年轻人也报告了更高的焦虑水平和更少的照顾时长。与匹配的同龄人相比，年轻成年照顾者似乎面临着健康和幸福受损的风险。需要进行纵向研究，以了解成年早期的照顾行为如何随时间影响健康和幸福。
