Children as caregivers: Counselors-in-training awareness and comfort related to children's caregiving

The purpose of this research study was to explore counselor-in-training's awareness of, and self-reported comfort inquiring about, children's caregiving activities. The sample for this study was recruited from students enrolled in a Master's level counselor education program. There were 110 students who participated in this study. Exploratory Factor Analysis was conducted on caregiving activities and counselor self-reported comfort level to determine best model fit. Factor Analysis supported a 3-Factor model of caregiving activities (Practical, Personal, and Emotional Responsibility). Regression Analysis indicated a positive relationship between the predictor variables of age and personal history of previously residing as a child with a care recipient in predicting counselor self-reported comfort level with inquiring about caregiving activities. Overall, this study found students' knowledge about young caregivers to be lacking. The participants in this study identified training needs to include general educational training on identifying young caregivers, emotional needs/concerns related to young caregiving, and disease specific education and community resources.