Date
8-29-2025
Department
School of Behavioral Sciences
Degree
Doctor of Education in Community Care and Counseling (EdD)
Chair
Stacey Custer Lilley
Keywords
caregivers, compassion fatigue, burnout, self-compassion, life satisfaction
Disciplines
Counseling
Recommended Citation
Byrd, Cristal, "An Evaluative Study on the Relationship Between Caregiver Stress of Adult Caregivers for Aging Parents With Chronic Medical Conditions and Life Satisfaction Moderated by Self-Compassion" (2025). Doctoral Dissertations and Projects. 7393.
https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/doctoral/7393
Abstract
As of 2015, in the United States alone, approximately 34.2 million Americans have provided unpaid (informal) care to an adult age fifty or older in the past twelve months Forty-two percent of these individuals are caring for a parent including 31% for a mother, and 11% for a father (Jones, 2015). Frequently, the impending challenges correlated with the aging process are discovered in concordance with each other; to which obligation or onus for caregiving of this demographic falls on the shoulders of their adult children. According to recent studies, approximately 1 in 3 adult children in the United States provide informal caregiver to aging parents that are also experiencing chronic medical conditions. While the caregiving role can provide many rewards, as caring for a parent in this capacity aligns with one’s core values, and is intrinsic in a traditional familial structure, the adult caregiver experiences a shift in roles and emotions and may become vulnerable to negative changes within their own health. Individuals that are informal caregivers are more likely to experience higher rates of compassion fatigue and burnout. Based on current literary research, a significantly quantifiable number of these specific individuals are suffering from compassion fatigue and burnout. With the projected number of individuals over 65 years old reaching numbers over eighty-three million by 2050, many of which require increased familial care and support, due to chronic medical conditions, there is a compelling need to analyze how, and if self-compassion can contribute to the life satisfaction of the family caregivers providing support to this staggering population. This review examined several key areas relating to this subject matter, including studies on the symptomologies of caregiver burden, analysis of mindfulness and self-compassion therapeutic interventions.
