The aims of the study were (1) to identify the characteristics of AYCs as compared with adolescents who are not young carers but are facing the illness/disability of a relative, or adolescents not facing the illness/disability of a relative, and (2) to identify factors associated with being a carer within adolescents facing a relative illness.
A total of 4000 high school students (grades 10-12, mainly aged 15-17 years, 568 identified as AYCs, 1200 as adolescents facing the illness/disability of a relative without being a carer and 2232 as adolescents not facing the illness/disability of a relative) completed a self-reported questionnaire assessing sociodemographic characteristics, illness/disability in the family, caregiving activities (MACA-YC18 and specific emotional support scale), quality of life (KIDSCREEN-10) and mental health (GHQ-12). Chi-square tests, ANOVAs and logistic regressions were performed.
AYCs scored lower on the quality-of-life measure compared with adolescents not facing the illness/disability of a relative (p < .001) and had poorer mental health compared with adolescents facing the illness/disability of a relative without being a carer and adolescents not facing the illness/disability of a relative (p < .001). Logistic regressions showed that youth were more at risk to be an AYC when they were females (p < .001), when they had an extracurricular job (p < .001), spoke another language at home (p < .01), had siblings and were one of the oldest siblings (p < .001), and when the relative had a serious or chronic physical illness (p < .001) and lived with the youth (p < .001).
These results highlight the importance of distinguishing AYCs, adolescents facing the illness/disability of a relative without being a carer and adolescents not facing the illness/disability of a relative to better describe AYCs, recognizing that as the level of care provided might change over time, adolescents facing the illness/disability of a relative without being a carer could become AYCs or inversely. The factors that emerged could be used by professionals to better identify AYCs.
目的:这项研究的目的是(1)与不是年轻照顾者但面临亲属疾病/残疾的青少年相比,确定AYC的特征,或未面临亲属疾病/残疾的青少年,和(2)确定与成为面临相对疾病的青少年中的照顾者相关的因素。
方法:共有4000名高中生(10-12年级,主要是15-17岁,568个被确定为AYC,1200人是面对亲戚的疾病/残疾而没有照顾者的青少年,而2232人是没有亲戚的疾病/残疾的青少年)完成了自我报告的问卷,评估了社会人口统计学特征,家庭中的疾病/残疾,护理活动(MACA-YC18和特定的情感支持量表),生活质量(KIDSCREEN-10)和心理健康(GHQ-12)。卡方检验,进行了方差分析和逻辑回归。
结果:与未面临亲属疾病/残疾的青少年相比,AYC在生活质量方面得分较低(p<.001),与未面对亲属疾病/残疾的青少年相比,AYC的心理健康较差。Logistic回归显示,当青年是女性时,青年更有可能成为AYC(p<.001),当他们有一份课外工作时(p<.001),在家说另一种语言(p<.01),有兄弟姐妹,是最年长的兄弟姐妹之一(p<.001),当亲戚患有严重或慢性身体疾病(p<.001)并与年轻人生活在一起时(p<.001)。
结论:这些结果突出了区分AYC的重要性,面对亲戚的疾病/残疾而没有照顾者的青少年和没有亲戚的疾病/残疾的青少年更好地描述AYCs,认识到随着时间的推移,所提供的护理水平可能会发生变化,面对亲属疾病/残疾而不是照顾者的青少年可能成为AYC或相反。出现的因素可以被专业人士用来更好地识别AYC。