Edinburgh Research Archive logo

Edinburgh Research Archive

University of Edinburgh homecrest
View Item 
  •   ERA Home
  • Health in Social Science, School of
  • Health in Social Science thesis collection
  • View Item
  •   ERA Home
  • Health in Social Science, School of
  • Health in Social Science thesis collection
  • View Item
  • Login
JavaScript is disabled for your browser. Some features of this site may not work without it.

Caring for the carers’: a systematic review of the conceptualisation of social support and an empirical investigation into compassion fatigue and associated factors, both in foster and kinship carers

View/Open
ClarkC_2021.pdf (3.893Mb)
Date
01/12/2021
Author
Clark, Christine
Metadata
Show full item record
Abstract
RATIONALE: Caring for an accommodated young person, who may have suffered trauma or neglect, is a complex and often emotive 24/7 role. Compassion fatigue has been identified in ‘helping professionals’ such as nurses who care for traumatised others. Research has begun to investigate whether compassion fatigue is present in foster and kinship carers. Factors that have been associated with compassion fatigue in helping professionals are: mentalising, attachment style, self-efficacy, and social support. Whether this will be similar in foster and kinship carers is unknown, however has implications on potential support to this population, as well as for the wellbeing of caregiver and child. There is also limited understanding of how social support itself is conceptualised in carers. METHODS: The thesis systematically reviewed the available evidence regarding how social support is conceptualised in foster and kinship carers, to ascertain whether previous conceptualisations can be applied to this group. It then assessed levels of compassion fatigue within this population and assessed associations of mentalising, attachment style, self-efficacy, and social support on compassion fatigue. RESULTS: Previous models of social support apply to foster and kinship carer populations; with perceptions that formal services were not meeting the emotional needs of caregivers, which had wider repercussions on the conception of social support. The time at which social support was given also greatly impacted perception of support. Additionally, foster and kinship carers did not have elevated levels of compassion fatigue compared to the general population of ‘helping’ professionals. Increased risk of compassion fatigue was associated with lower levels of parenting self-efficacy, greater avoidant attachment styles and greater discrepancies between enacted and perceived social support. CONCLUSIONS: The thesis highlights the importance of exploring caregivers’ perceptions of supports and evaluating whether a support meets their needs; the mere increase of a support without understanding its function is not acceptable. No elevated levels of caregivers at high-risk for compassion fatigue found within the study are discussed in light of the timing of data collection and sampling strategy during COVID-19 restrictions. Associations between social support and avoidant attachment style, in regards to caregivers accessing entitled supports, have clinical implications for services.
URI
https://hdl.handle.net/1842/38297

http://dx.doi.org/10.7488/era/1563
Collections
  • Health in Social Science thesis collection

Related items

Showing items related by title, author, creator and subject.

  • Combining clinical interventions for carers of people with intellectual disabilities: a systematic review of combined interventions for carers of people with developmental disabilities, and a realist evaluation of a combined acceptance and commitment therapy and positive behaviour support intervention for carers of children with intellectual disabilities 

    Turco De Pretis-Cagnodo, Matteo (The University of Edinburgh, 2022-02-23)
    BACKGROUND: A systematic review was conducted to examine whether combined Applied behaviour analysis (ABA) and Mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) are effective in increasing the psychological wellbeing and quality of ...
  • Carers, Identity and Community: A Discursive Psychological Analysis of an Online Support Group for Carers 

    Honeyman, Rachael (The University of Edinburgh, 2015)
  • Systematic review of the predictors of carer burden in caregivers of children with chronic conditions; and, The relationship between carer burden, self-compassion, psychological flexibility and wellbeing in caregivers of children with chronic conditions 

    Schroeter, Vera Medea (The University of Edinburgh, 2021-07-31)
    Background: Caregivers of children with chronic conditions have been shown to experience higher levels of carer burden, which has been linked to increased mental health difficulties (such as anxiety and depression) and ...

Library & University Collections HomeUniversity of Edinburgh Information Services Home
Privacy & Cookies | Takedown Policy | Accessibility | Contact
Privacy & Cookies
Takedown Policy
Accessibility
Contact
feed RSS Feeds

RSS Feed not available for this page

 

 

All of ERACommunities & CollectionsBy Issue DateAuthorsTitlesSubjectsPublication TypeSponsorSupervisorsThis CollectionBy Issue DateAuthorsTitlesSubjectsPublication TypeSponsorSupervisors
LoginRegister

Library & University Collections HomeUniversity of Edinburgh Information Services Home
Privacy & Cookies | Takedown Policy | Accessibility | Contact
Privacy & Cookies
Takedown Policy
Accessibility
Contact
feed RSS Feeds

RSS Feed not available for this page