Benefit finding moderates the relationship between young carer experiences and mental well-being

Figures & data

Figure 1. Proposed moderation effect.

Table 1. Characteristics of the sample and differences between groups.

	Overall (N = 2,525)	Young carers		No caring experiences (n = 1,388)	Differences between the three groups
		Ongoing (n = 601)	Former (n = 536)
Gender, % female	59.6	71.9	56.5	55.5	χ^2(2) = 49.55*
Age in years, M (SD)	17.73 (1.55)	17.87 (1.53)	17.81 (1.65)	17.63 (1.51)	F(2, 2522) = 5.69*
Nationality, % Swiss	71.5	72.9	67.0	72.6	χ^2(2) = 6.68 (n.s.)
Life events, M (SD)	7.71 (4.91)	9.71 (5.05)	8.85 (4.99)	6.40 (4.38)	F(2, 2522) = 125.50*
Adverse life events, M (SD)	3.68 (3.37)	5.30 (3.72)	4.20 (3.68)	2.78 (2.73)	F(2, 2522) = 139.00*
Mental well-being, M (SD)	50.89 (8.76)	49.38 (8.71)	50.79 (8.91)	51.58 (8.65)	F(2, 2522) = 13.29*
Benefit finding related to caring, % yes		29.6	28.0		χ^2(2) = 0.37 (n.s.)

Note. M = mean; SD = standard deviation.

* p < .01.

Table 2. Analyses of covariance in benefit finding (overall and subscales) with caring experiences as factor and demographics and adverse life events as covariates, test statistics, effect size and estimated marginal means of levels of benefit finding by comparison group.

	F (1, 2519)	p	η^2	Young carers (n = 1,137)		No caring experiences (n = 1,388)
				EMM	SE	EMM	SE
Overall benefit finding	8.41	.004	<0.01	2.47	0.02	2.39	0.02
Acceptance	4.51	.034	–	2.47	0.03	2.40	0.02
Family bonds	2.46	.117	–	2.50	0.03	2.44	0.03
Relationships	5.30	.022	–	2.55	0.03	2.47	0.02
Growth	9.99	.002	<0.01	2.49	0.03	2.38	0.03
Reprioritization	2.49	.115	–	2.35	0.03	2.29	0.02
Empathy	11.90	<.001	<0.01	2.48	0.03	2.37	0.02

Note. EMM = estimated marginal means adjusted for gender, nationality (Swiss vs. non-Swiss), age, and adverse life events; SE = standard error.

Table 3. Multivariate regression analyses predicting benefit finding scores (overall and subscales) in young carers (unstandardized coefficients).

	Overall benefit finding	Acceptance	Family bonds	Relationships	Growth	Reprioritization	Empathy
Intercept	2.05*	1.95*	1.91*	2.48*	1.77*	1.71*	2.56*
Gender (ref. = female)	−0.12*	−0.10	−0.18*	−0.15*	−0.04	−0.12	−0.19*
Age	0.02	0.03	0.04	0.00	0.04	0.04	−0.01
Nationality (ref. = Swiss)	0.02	0.05	0.01	−0.03	0.03	0.07	−0.02
Adverse life events	0.02*	0.02*	0.01	0.02*	0.01	0.02*	0.05*
Benefit finding related to caring (ref. = no)	0.12*	0.08	0.12	0.18*	0.08	0.08	0.18*
Former caring activity (ref. = ongoing)	−0.07	−0.07	−0.10	−0.04	−0.06	−0.09	−0.07
F(6, 1130)	7.71*	4.55*	4.54*	6.35*	2.72	6.02*	16.40*
Adj. R^2	.03	.02	.02	.03	.01	.03	.08

Note. N = 1,137.

* p < .01.

Figure 2. Moderation analyses of caring experiences and overall benefit finding scores predicting levels of mental well-being in adolescents adjusted for gender, age, nationality, and the number of adverse life events. WEMWBS = Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-Being Scale; GBFS = General Benefit Finding Scale.

Table 4. Multivariate regression analyses of benefit finding predicting mental well-being in young carers (unstandardized coefficients).

	All young carers (n = 1,137)		Caring activities				Perceived benefits related to caring
			Ongoing (n = 601)		Former (n = 536)		Yes (n = 328)		No (n = 809)
Intercept	37.34*	39.50*	29.27*	32.20*	45.00*	46.70*	32.75*	34.50*	38.51*	40.69*
Covariates (Δ adj. R^2)	(.02*)	(.02*)	(.03*)	(.03*)	(.01)	(.01)	(.01)	(.01)	(.03*)	(.03*)
Gender (ref. = female)	2.97*	2.34*	2.87*	2.21*	2.43*	1.86*	0.86	0.03	3.86*	3.24*
Age	0.00	−0.06	0.37	0.27	−0.35	−0.39	0.19	0.15	−0.04	−0.11
Nationality (ref. = Swiss)	−2.24*	−2.27*	−2.87*	−3.04*	−1.74	−1.63	−3.12*	−3.25*	−1.88*	−1.84*
Benefit finding (Δ adj. R^2)	(.14*)	(.20*)	(.16*)	(.21*)	(.14*)	(.19*)	(.19*)	(.26*)	(.13*)	(.18*)
Overall score	4.89*		5.26*		4.71*		5.93*		4.51*
Acceptance		0.41		0.66		0.16		0.41		0.54
Family bonds		0.65		0.80		0.55		0.26		0.78
Relationships		1.70*		1.69		1.46		3.57*		1.00
Growth		4.14*		4.08*		4.23*		3.99*		4.13*
Reprioritization		−0.37		−0.48		−0.09		0.13		−0.57
Empathy		−1.97*		−1.81*		−1.97*		−2.69*		−1.70*
F	56.73	36.69	36.83	22.36	23.90	15.79	21.50	14.86	38.45	24.72
df	4, 1132	9, 1127	4, 596	9, 591	4, 531	9, 526	4, 323	9, 318	4, 804	9, 799
adj. R^2 (95% CI)	.16 (.13, .20)	.22 (.18, .26)	.19 (.14, .25)	.24 (.18, .30)	.15 (.09, .20)	.20 (.14, .26)	.20 (.13, .28)	.28 (.20, .36)	.16 (.11, .20)	.21 (.16, .26)

* p < .01.

Data availability statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.