The Role of Self-Compassion, Dispositional Mindfulness, and Emotion Regulation in the Psychological Health of Family Carers of Older Adults

Objectives: This study explored the role of compassion and dispositional mindfulness in the psychological health of family carers of older adults and tested for potential mediating effects of emotion regulation difficulties and adaptive coping strategies. Methods: A sample of 141 family carers of adults aged 65 years or older with chronic conditions completed a cross-sectional survey between July - December 2019. The survey included self-report scales that measured: self-compassion, compassion for others, compassion from others, dispositional mindfulness, depression, anxiety, stress, emotion- and problem-focused coping strategies, and difficulties in emotion regulation. Results: Path analyses found that increased self-compassion and increased dispositional mindfulness was associated with lower psychological distress, and that this was mediated by reduced difficulties in emotion regulation. The model had excellent fit, explaining 64.8% of the variance in psychological distress, and 52.2% of the variance in emotion regulation difficulties. Conclusions: Self-compassion and dispositional mindfulness may help buffer the psychological distress of family carers of older adults, and adaptive emotion regulation is an important mechanism of change in these relationships. Clinical Implications: Interventions that aim to cultivate self-compassion and mindfulness could be clinically useful in reducing psychological distress within populations of family carers of older adults by promoting adaptive emotion regulation.