| Previous research has indicated that providing care to trauma survivors has both positive and negative effects on the quality of life (QoL) of caregivers. Negative effects that caregiving may have include: experiencing symptoms of vicarious trauma (VT), compassion fatigue (CF), secondary traumatic stress (STS), or burn out. In contrast, positive effects may include experiencing CF, posttraumatic growth (PTG), or vicarious resilience (VR). Based in social constructivism, this qualitative study took a phenomenological approach to exploring the impact of providing care to childhood sexual abuse survivors (CSAS) on the QoL of life among informal non-familial caregivers in South Africa (n=15). Semi-structured interviews were conducted in two phases; the first phase consisted of caregivers sharing their experiences via verbal narratives, while the second phase required participants to share their experiences by providing answers to open-ended interview questions. Results of this research confirmed findings from previous research suggesting that providing care to CSAS has both positive and negative effects on the QoL of caregivers; however, negative effects were more persistent, making the caregivers more vulnerable to experiencing symptoms of VT, CF, STS, and burnout. Results also indicated that caregivers experienced positive effects; however, those experiences were minimum due to lack of education, training, social support, and coping skills. The results of this research indicate the amount of negative effects of caregiving tremendously outweighs the benefits, ultimately leading to a negative impact on the overall QoL of the caregiver and CSAS. This research not only bridges the gap regarding the available literature, it also lays the foundation for future research on the QoL of caregivers in South Africa. |
