Centro de Investigação em Psicologia para o Desenvolvimento, Universidade Lusíada, 4100-348 Porto, Portugal.
Portincarers Associação Cuidadores Portugal, 4200-249 Porto, Portugal.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2023 Nov 3;20(21):7017. doi: 10.3390/ijerph20217017.
Caring for an ill or disabled relative can present significant challenges that may exceed the personal resources of the caregiver. Young carers (YCs) often take on this role, providing support to family members or friends, which can have far-reaching effects on various aspects of their lives. This study involved 235 adolescents, 106 YCs, and 129 non-carers (NCs), who completed questionnaires assessing life satisfaction, satisfaction with social support, family functioning, academic functioning, and caregiving activities. Tests of group differences (MANOVA and MANCOVA controlling for age) showed YCs had more caregiving activities than NCs (as expected) and, critically, significantly lower life satisfaction. Hierarchical regressions with the YCS subsample showed academic functioning, social support, and the negative impact of caregiving were associated with life satisfaction, and that the negative influence of caregiving was linked to family functioning and the quantity of caregiving activities. For NCs, academic functioning, satisfaction with social support, and family functioning were associated with life satisfaction. In conclusion, caregiving in adolescents appears to be linked to lower life satisfaction, but this effect is determined by their social support, academic functioning, and negative impact of caring, which in turn depends on their family functioning and amount of caring activities.
照顾生病或残疾的亲属会带来重大挑战，这些挑战可能超出照顾者的个人能力。年轻照顾者（YCs）经常承担这一角色，为家庭成员或朋友提供支持，这对他们生活的各个方面都会产生深远的影响。本研究涉及 235 名青少年、106 名 YCs 和 129 名非照顾者（NCs），他们完成了评估生活满意度、社会支持满意度、家庭功能、学业功能和照顾活动的问卷。组间差异检验（MANOVA 和 MANCOVA 控制年龄）显示，YCs 的照顾活动比 NCs 多（正如预期的那样），而且生活满意度显著降低。对 YCs 子样本进行的分层回归显示，学业功能、社会支持以及照顾的负面影响与生活满意度相关，而照顾的负面影响与家庭功能和照顾活动的数量有关。对于 NCs，学业功能、对社会支持的满意度和家庭功能与生活满意度相关。总之，青少年的照顾行为似乎与较低的生活满意度有关，但这种影响取决于他们的社会支持、学业功能和照顾的负面影响，而这些又取决于他们的家庭功能和照顾活动的数量。
