兒童少年家庭照顧者重述之生命經驗：弱勢累積觀點

近年來，兒童少年家庭照顧者的存在已確實成為一個社會現象，但這個議題卻仍未被專業人員察覺及引發社會大眾的關注，以致他們的照顧經驗與不利處境長期被忽略。反觀國外的研究已將這類對象明確定義外，也發現擔負照顧工作危害孩子的身心健康與發展、阻礙學習機會與學校參與，以及受限的社交參與與人際關係的疏離等負面影響。然而，在兒少生命歷程中，原本主要發展任務是接受教育學習、累積人力資本等，但兒少家庭照顧者卻需以擔負起家庭照顧責任為優先，延後自身發展需求，這樣的生命軌跡將產生什麼樣的持續性影響呢？本研究以質性訪談的方式，回顧7位18歲以上兒少家庭照顧者的生命經驗，瞭解他們照顧歷程的生活樣貌，並進一步以弱勢累積觀點探討在經歷受教育階段、人際關係建立與生涯就業規劃等各面向的影響。本研究發現兒少家庭照顧者從小籠罩在家庭經濟壓力下，在各面向的影響結論如下： 1、在接受教育階段，當面臨抉擇升學與就業選項時，常先選擇提前進入勞動市場，也易成為工作貧窮。為了擔負照顧工作，也留下無法兼顧照顧工作與學業的生命軌跡。另外，兒少家庭照顧者因家庭因素也常見低落的學習成就動機。 2、在人際關係的建立上，例行的照顧工作讓兒少家庭照顧者缺乏參與社交活動的時間，讓他們感到惋惜、遺憾、心理不平衡等困擾。倘若參與同儕的活動邀約時，他們必須與其他家庭成員協調出其他的替代方式，卻非想像中的簡單，也常讓他們感到與其他同儕最大差異之處。長久下來，兒少家庭照顧者也感受到他們自己與同儕關係的疏離，無法建立深厚的友誼，也累積人際資源網絡的弱勢情形。 3、在生涯就業規劃，兒少家庭照顧者常以工作收入作為生涯選擇的前提，或不重視生涯規劃追求自我價值，只求經濟溫飽而做務實的選擇。最後提出討論與建議，首先提升社會大眾識別兒少家庭照顧者之覺察力，再來亟需透過政府部門正視兒少家庭照顧者的權益，建構完整的評估機制，並藉由健全的跨專業團隊提供符合兒少家庭照顧者真正的需求服務，主要目的是確保這些孩子能與同儕一樣擁有正常的童年，在生命歷程中能專心致力於致力於階段任務發展，減低各面向弱勢累積不利情勢影響他們的未來。

關鍵字

兒少家庭照顧者；弱勢累積觀點；照顧經驗；親職化兒童

並列摘要

Intrafamily care by young family members has become a social phenomenon in Taiwan, although their caring experiences and disadvantageous circumstances have been chronically overlooked by experts and the public. However, young carers has been well-defined by researchers in other countries and studies have demonstrated thatcaregiving by the young undermines their physical and mental well-being and limits their learning opportunities, school participation, social activity, and interpersonal interactions. This underlines the need to investigate the consequences of such carers’ assumption of family responsibilities at the expense of their education and human capital. This study conducted interviews with seven young carers aged 18 or older regarding their caring experiences and to explore their education, interpersonal relationship development, and career planning in terms of disadvantage accumulation. Because of financial difficulties, the participants reported having experienced changes in their school education, interpersonal relationships, and career planning. The conclusions of the study were as follows: (1) School education. Generally, young carers prioritize employment over education and are thus highly likely to become part of the working poor. They withdraw from school to provide caregiving at home. Because of their domestic workload, most are underachievers at school and have low learning motivation. (2) Interpersonal relationships. Regular caregiving leaves young carers with limited time for social activities, which makes them regretful and psychologically unstable. The carers find it difficult to ask family members to take over their responsibilities while they are out at social events. Consequently, the carers become increasingly withdrawn from their peers, accumulating disadvantages within their interpersonal networks. (3) Career planning. Young carers typically choose jobs that keep them financially stable but offer few, if any, opportunities for seeking higher self-worth. Given these conclusions, this study proposed that public awareness of young carers should be improved and the government should formulate an interdisciplinary team of specialists tailored to meet the needs of young carers. This could empower the carers to have a normal childhood ,pursue appropriate goals at different life stages,and decrease any disadvantages that have accumulated in all aspects of their lives.