COMPASSION FATIGUE AS PREDICTOR OF MENTAL HEALTH OUTCOMES AMONG PARENTS OF CHILDREN WITH INTELLECTUAL DISABILITY

Abstract

The current study aims to investigate the relationship between compassion fatigue and mental health outcomes i.e. burnout and subjective wellbeing among parents of children with intellectual disability(ID). Based on the literature review, the following hypotheses were formulated: 1) There would be a positive relationship between compassion fatigue and burnout among parents of children with ID. 2) There would be a negative relationship between compassion fatigue and subjective well-being among parents with ID children. 3) There would be a predictive relationship of compassion fatigue with burnout and subjective wellbeing among parents of children with ID. A purposive sample of 200 parents of diagnosed children with intellectual disability was taken from  special schools and different areas of Sialkot. A self-developed demographic sheet along with study scales were administered. For data analysis, descriptive and inferential statistics were applied. The results indicated that compassion fatigue has a significant positive relationship with burnout  (r= .67**, p < .01) and a negative relationship with LS (r= -.33**, p< .01). Linear regression analysis showed that CF has significant potential to predict burnout (R² = .45, p<.001), and LS (R² = .11, p<.001).  The current study will strengthen the understanding of the challenges associated with wellbeing and will suggest ways of improving family functioning and caregiver wellbeing ultimately to enlighten future research and interventions.