Associations among caregiving burden, social support, hope, mastery, and depressive symptoms in family caregivers of children and young people with mental illness: a chain mediation analysis

作者：Ziyao Guan, Hao Yao, Kunmei Li, Wanqi Sun, Yandan Peng, Jing Yang Catherine Chen, Enzhao Cong, Wenhong Cheng, Jianhua Chen, Yifeng Xu · 发表于：BMC Psychiatry · 年份：2026 · DOI：10.1186/s12888-026-08493-0 · 研究领域：Family Caregiving in Mental Illness、Family and Patient Care in Intensive Care Units、Family and Disability Support Research

Caregiving burden and depressive symptoms are common among family caregivers of children and young people (CYP) with mental illness, but the interplay among psychosocial and coping resources are not well understood. This cross-sectional study aimed to assess the relationship between caregiving burden and depressive symptoms and the roles of social support, hope, and mastery in this relationship among Chinese family caregivers of CYP with mental illness. Totally 333 Chinese family caregivers of CYP with mental illness were recruited, who completed the 12-item Zarit Burden Interview, the 9-item Patient Health Questionnaire, Oslo 3-item Social Support Scale, the Herth Hope Index, and the Pearlin Mastery Scale between September 2024 and February 2025. Descriptive analysis, correlation analysis, and the PROCESS Macro model 6 in regression analysis were applied. Results showed that 63.7% of participants reported caregiving burden and 48.0% reported moderate to severe depressive symptoms. Moreover, caregiving burden ( r = 0.652, p < 0.001), social support ( r = -0.392, p < 0.001), mastery ( r = -0.500, p < 0.001), and hope ( r = -0.507, p < 0.001) were related to depressive symptoms. Importantly, social support, hope, and mastery formed multiple indirect pathways between caregiving burden and depressive symptoms. Mental healthcare workers should be aware that majority of family caregivers experience caregiving burden and depressive symptoms, and that programs enhancing family caregi...