Introduction

In adolescents and young adults, self-compassion has been positively associated with wellbeing and negatively associated with psychological distress. One population of youth who may draw particular benefit from self-compassion are those who have parents with mental illness. This qualitative study explored the perspectives and experiences of self-compassion among a group of young adult children of parents with mental illness.

Methods

A purposive sample of ten Australian emerging adults aged 18–25 years (3 men, 6 women and 1 non-binary person) participated in individual semi-structured telephone interviews. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis was used to examine and interpret participants’ experiences and perspectives of self-compassion.

Results

Participants described self-compassion as personally relevant and beneficial, although difficult to engage in. Some participants had learnt about, and actively practiced self-compassion, and offered advice for others. Conversely, others described self-compassion as difficult to practice and outlined barriers to self-compassion, from society and family life. Although participants identified common negative social conceptions of self-compassion, they articulated how self-compassion could be valuable for those who have parents with mental illness.

Conclusions

Results indicate the perceived importance of self-compassion along with barriers and facilitators of self-compassion for young adults who have parents with a mental illness. Implications for clinical practice and suggestions for future research are presented.

中文翻译：

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精神病父母成年子女自我同情的经验与视角

介绍

在青少年和年轻人中，自我同情与幸福感呈正相关，与心理困扰呈负相关。父母患有精神疾病的年轻人可能会从自我同情中受益匪浅。这项定性研究探讨了一群患有精神疾病的父母的成年子女自我同情的观点和经历。

方法

十名年龄在 18-25 岁的澳大利亚新兴成年人（3 名男性、6 名女性和 1 名非二元性别者）的有目的样本参与了个人半结构化电话采访。解释现象学分析被用来检查和解释参与者的经历和自我同情的观点。

结果

参与者将自我同情描述为与个人相关和有益的，尽管很难从事。一些参与者已经了解并积极实践自我同情，并为他人提供建议。相反，其他人将自我同情描述为难以实践，并概述了来自社会和家庭生活的自我同情障碍。尽管参与者确定了自我慈悲的普遍负面社会观念，但他们阐明了自我慈悲对那些父母患有精神疾病的人的价值。

结论

结果表明，对于父母患有精神疾病的年轻人来说，自我同情的重要性以及自我同情的障碍和促进因素。提出了对临床实践的影响和对未来研究的建议。