Family caregivers of youth with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDDs) often serve as life long caregivers for their family... Show moreFamily caregivers of youth with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDDs) often serve as life long caregivers for their family members. Little is known about the experiences of these caregivers during their youths’ transitional phase between adolescence and adulthood, particularly with regard to their experiences of selfcompassion, courtesy stigma, and wellbeing. As courtesy stigma (stigma experienced as a result of a person’s connection to a stigmatized individual) is associated with a variety of negative outcomes for caregivers, it is essential to identify protective factors to buffer caregivers from these effects. The present study surveyed 130 family caregivers of transition age youth with IDDs and tested positive aspects (“self-kindness”) and negative aspects (“self-coldness”) of self-compassion as potential mediators between courtesy stigma and caregiver psychosocial outcomes. Self-coldness partially mediated the relationship between courtesy stigma and caregiver life satisfaction (effect = -.13, CI = -.28 to -.03), while self-kindness did not. Both self-kindness (effect = .10, CI = .02 to .21) and self-coldness (effect = .17, CI = .07 to .30) partially mediated the relationship between courtesy stigma and caregiver depressive symptoms. Overall self-compassion (positive and negative aspects combined) was tested as a moderator of the relationships between courtesy stigma and caregiver psychosocial outcomes; no significant interactions were observed. Findings suggest self-compassion offers some protective effects from courtesy stigma for caregivers. Future research should seek to explore potential differences in these relationships according to caregiver gender or care recipient diagnostic group. M.S. in Psychology, May 2018 Show less
