Participant information sheet
Does caring for someone with a chronic physical or mental condition affect self-compassion, compassion fatigue and eating behaviour?
The aim of this research is to understand the role of an informal carer, through exploring the physiological and psychological effects that the role can cause, for caring for someone with a mental health condition (Dementia) or a chronic physical condition.
Participant criteria:
This research project requires informal carers that care for a loved one who is diagnosed with Dementia or a chronic physical condition. Participants must be 18 years old or above and living in England.
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Your participation:
Your participation will provide a greater insight as to how the lives of carers are affected, as there is limited research within this area. Taking part within this research is voluntary and you have the right to not answer any questions that you are not comfortable in answering. Also you can withdraw from this study at any time and can have your responses removed.
Study procedure:
Through the use of quantitative research methods, participants will need to complete a set of psychometric scales and demographic questions. The scales will be exploring the level of self-compassion that the carer has, and whether they have compassion fatigue. Also eating behaviors will be looked at in more detail by considering the eating styles that carers engage in. The demographic answers will be considered and will allow conclusions to be drawn for the types of coping mechanisms used.
The study will take place by the participants being approached by the researcher and introduced to the research project. After reading this information sheet and completing the consent form, participants will have agreed in participating. They will then be asked to fill out the scales within the scheduled time of approximately 15 minutes.

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Confidentiality:
The information gained from the scales and demographic questions will be used within this research project and will not be shared with anyone else other than the researcher’s dissertation supervisor and the external marker of the dissertation module. As paper based questionnaires will be used, the researcher will ensure that they are collected and stored within a locked cupboard.
Anonymity:
The data will be kept anonymous as the participants will not be asked to provide their personal details such as name, thus if this research is published the responses will not be identifiable to the specific person.
Extra support:
There are low risks of participants experiencing emotional distress due to the nature of the research topic, therefore if you would like to discuss your concerns you can seek extra support from the following organisations:
The Samaritans (Tel: 0121 6666644, http://www.samaritans.org/)
Carers Trust (Tel: 0121 558 7003, https://www.carers.org/).
Thank you for reading this information sheet and for considering volunteering for this study. If you do have any questions then please ask the researcher who is happy to answer and queries.
Contact details:
Researcher details: Kiran Khan, kiran.khan2@mail.bcu.ac.uk
Dissertation supervisor: Dr Michael Mantzios, michael.mantzios@bcu.ac.uk
This dissertation project is organised by Birmingham City University and participants can also get in contact with the Business, Law & Social sciences faculty ethics committee directly if required: blssethics@bcu.ac.uk

Consent form
Does caring for someone with a chronic physical or mental condition affect self-compassion, compassion fatigue and eating behaviour?
To be able to take part within this research project the participant will need to give their consent by ticking the boxes below, signing and dating. This will confirm that you are aware of the research project and have read the information sheet.
This consent form will be kept by the researcher for record purposes only.
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Researcher: Kiran Khan
I am aware of my role within the study, have read the information sheet and have had my questions answered.
I do fit the participant criteria as I am an informal carer for a loved one who is diagnosed with Dementia or a chronic physical condition and I am 18 years old or above and live in England.
I understand that my participation is voluntary and do not have to answer all the question if I do not want to.
I have the choice to withdraw from the study at any time and can also have my contributed data withdrawn.
I have had the contact details of the researcher, dissertation supervisor and the
University and will contact them if I have any issues.
I am aware that the information from the scales will not be passed on or discussed with anyone else other than the researcher’s supervisor and external marker.
My personal information will be kept confidential and only the data analysis will be seen by others.
I therefore give my consent to take part in this study.
Par ticipant’s Name: .................................... Researcher’s Name: ………………..
Signature: ................................................... Signature: .........................................
Date: ........................................................... Date: .................................................

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Demographic Questions
Does caring for someone with a chronic physical or mental condition affect self-compassion, compassion fatigue and eating behaviour?
The following questions have been developed to identify whether caring for someone with a mental health condition (Dementia) or a chronic physical condition contributes to engaging in health behaviours to cope with the difficulties of caring for a loved one. As well as these questions psychometric scales will be used.
Mental and physical condition patients, the following questions are based on the individual that you are caring for:
Age:
Gender:
Ethnicity:
Name of condition:
How do you care for the person, such as what tasks are you responsible for to meet their physical and psychological needs? (eg: dressing and feeding them, taking them out).
How much time do you spend caring for the person?
How long have you been a carer?

Mental and physical condition carers, the following set of questions are based on the caregiver:
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Age:
Gender:
Occupation:
Ethnicity:
Do you suffer from any health conditions yourself?
Do you care alone or have support from someone else?
Are you a smoker?
If yes, how many cigarettes do you smoke daily?
Do you drink alcohol?
If yes, how often would you drink in a week?
Do you follow a religious belief, if so would you describe yourself as practising?
If you have difficulties with your role as a carer what do you do to help yourself cope?

Validated Questionnaires
Self-compassion scale (Neff, 2003).
Please read each statement carefully before answering. To the left of each item, indicate how often you behave in the stated manner, using the following scale:
Almost never Almost always
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1 2 3 4 5
_____ 1. I’m disapproving and judgmental about my own flaws and inadequacies.
_____ 2. When I’m feeling down I tend to obsess and fixate on everything that’s
wrong.
_____ 3. When things are going badly for me, I see the difficulties as part of life that
everyone goes through.
_____ 4. When I think about my inadequacies, it tends to make me feel more
separate and cut off from the rest of the world.
_____ 5. I try to be loving towards myself when I’m feeling emotional pain.
_____ 6. When I fail at something important to me I become consumed by feelings of
inadequacy.
_____ 7. When I'm down and out, I remind myself that there are lots of other people
in the world feeling like I am.
_____ 8. When times are really difficult, I tend to be tough on myself.
_____ 9. When something upsets me I try to keep my emotions in balance.
_____ 10. When I feel inadequate in some way, I try to remind myself that feelings of
inadequacy are shared by most people.
_____ 11. I’m intolerant and impatient towards those aspects of my personality I
don't like.
_____ 12. When I’m going through a very hard time, I give myself the caring and
tenderness I need.
_____ 13. When I’m feeling down, I tend to feel like most other people are probably
happier than I am.
_____ 14. When something painful happens I try to take a balanced view of the
situation.
_____ 15. I try to see my failings as part of the human condition.
_____ 16. When I see aspects of myself that I don’t like, I get down on myself.
_____ 17. When I fail at something important to me I try to keep things in
perspective.
_____ 18. When I’m really struggling, I tend to feel like other people must be having
an easier time of it.
_____ 19. I’m kind to myself when I’m experiencing suffering.

_____ 20. When something upsets me I get carried away with my feelings.
_____ 21. I can be a bit cold-hearted towards myself when I'm experiencing
suffering.
_____ 22. When I'm feeling down I try to approach my feelings with curiosity and
openness.
_____ 23. I’m tolerant of my own flaws and inadequacies.
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_____ 24. When something painful happens I tend to blow the incident out of
proportion.
_____ 25. When I fail at something that's important to me, I tend to feel alone in my
failure.
_____ 26. I try to be understanding and patient towards those aspects of my
personality I don't like.

Compassion fatigue short scale (Adams, Boscarino & Figley, 2006)
Consider the following items about your work/life situation. Write the number that best reflects your experiences using the following rating scale, 1 through
10:
Never/ Rarely/ Sometimes/ Very Often
1.....2.....3.....4.....5.....6.....7.....8.....9.....10
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___ 1. I have felt trapped by my work.
___ 2. I have thoughts that I am not succeeding in achieving my life goals.
___ 3. I have had flashbacks connected to my clients.
___ 4. I feel that I am a “failure” in my work.
___ 5. I experience troubling dreams similar to those of a client of mine.
___ 6. I have felt a sense of hopelessness associated with working with clients/patients.
___ 7. I have frequently felt weak, tired or rundown as a result of my work as a caregiver.
___ 8. I have experienced intrusive thoughts after working with an especially difficult client/patient.
___ 9. I have felt depressed as a result of my work.
___ 10. I have suddenly and involuntarily recalled a frightening experience while
working with a client/patient.
___ 11. I feel I am unsuccessful at separating work from my personal life.
___ 12. I am losing sleep over a client's traumatic experiences.
___ 13. I have a sense of worthlessness, disillusionment, or resentment associated
with my work.

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Mindful eating scale (Hulbert-Williams, Nicholls, Joy & Hulbert-Williams, 2014).
A number of statements are written below. Please read each one and then state how well it describes you or your behaviour.
Never 1, Sometimes 2, Often 3, Usually 4
___ 1. I become very short tempered if I need to eat.
___ 2. I snack without being aware that I'm eating.
___ 3. I multi-task whilst eating.
___ 4. I don't pay attention to what I'm eating because I'm daydreaming, worrying or distracted.
___ 5. I need to eat like clockwork.
___ 6. I can tolerate being hungry for a while.
___ 7. I tell myself I shouldn't be hungry.
___ 8. I criticise myself for the way I eat.
___ 9. When I get hungry, I can't think about anything else.
___ 10. I have a routine for what I eat.
___ 11. I tend to evaluate whether my eating is right or wrong.
___ 12. I eat the same thing for lunch each day.
___ 13. I notice how my food looks.
___ 14. I eat something without really being aware of it.
___ 15. I stay aware of my food whilst I'm eating.
___ 16. I wish I could control my hunger.
___ 17. It's easy for me to concentrate on what I'm eating.
___ 18. I notice the smells and aromas of food.
___ 19. I eat the same thing on the same day of each week.
___ 20. I eat between meals.
___ 21. Once I've decided to eat, I have to eat straight away.
___ 22. I have a routine for when I eat.
___ 23. I wish I could control my eating more easily.
___ 24. I snack when I'm bored.
___ 25. I eat automatically without being aware of what I'm eating.
___ 26. I notice flavours and textures when I'm eating my food.
___ 27. I eat at my desk or computer.
___ 28. I tell myself I shouldn't be eating what I'm eating.

The Three-Factor Eating Questionnaire - Revised 18-Item (de Lauzon, et al.,
2004).
Please read each one and then score how well it describes you.
Definitely true (4)/ mostly true (3)/ mostly false (2)/ definitely false (1)
___ 1. When I smell a sizzling steak or juicy piece of meat, I find it very difficult to keep from eating, even if I have just finished a meal.
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___ 2. I deliberately take small helpings as a means of controlling my weight.
___ 3. When I feel anxious, I find myself eating.
___ 4.
Sometimes when I start eating, I just can’t seem to stop.
___ 5. Being with someone who is eating often makes me hungry enough to eat also.
___ 6. When I feel blue, I often overeat.
___ 7. When I see a real delicacy, I often get so hungry that I have to eat right away.
___ 8. I get so hungry that my stomach often seems like a bottomless pit.
___ 9. I am always hungry so it is hard for me to stop eating before I finish the food on my plate.
___ 10. When I feel lonely, I console myself by eating.
___ 11. I consciously hold back at meals in order not to weight gain.
___ 12. I do not eat some foods because they make me fat.
___ 13. I am always hungry enough to eat at any time.
___ 14. How often do you feel hungry?
Only at meal times (1)/ sometimes between meals (2)/ often between meals
(3)/ almost always (4)
___ 15.
How frequently do you avoid “stocking up” on tempting foods?
Almost never (1)/ seldom (2)/ usually (3)/ almost always (4)
___ 16. How likely are you to consciously eat less than you want?
Unlikely (1)/ slightly likely (2)/ moderately likely (3)/ very likely (4)
___ 17. Do you go on eating binges though you are not hungry?
Never (1)/ rarely (2)/ sometimes (3)/ at least once a week (4)
___ 18. On a scale of 1 to 8, where 1 means no restraint in eating (eating whatever you want, whenever you want it) and 8 means total restraint (constantly limiting food intake and never “giving in”), what number would you give yourself?

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Debrief
Does caring for someone with a chronic physical or mental condition affect self-compassion, compassion fatigue and eating behaviour?
The aim of this research is to understand the role of an informal carer, through exploring the physiological and psychological effects that the role can cause, for caring for someone with a mental health condition (Dementia) or a chronic physical condition. Participants will need to complete a set of scales and demographic questions which will be exploring the level of self-compassion that the carer has, and whether they have compassion fatigue. Also eating behaviour will be looked at in more detail by considering the eating styles that carers engage in. The researcher will analyse the responses using the SPSS programme, in order to investigate the relationship between the variables. Also, the demographic answers will be considered and will allow conclusions to be drawn for the types of coping mechanisms used.
There are low risks of participants experiencing emotional distress due to the nature of the research topic, therefore if you would like to discuss your concerns you can seek extra support from the following organisations:
The Samaritans (Tel: 0121 6666644, http://www.samaritans.org/)
Carers Trust (Tel: 0121 558 7003, https://www.carers.org/).
Thank you for taking part in this study, if you have any queries feel free to get in touch with the researcher or others involved in the project.
Researcher details: Kiran Khan, kiran.khan2@mail.bcu.ac.uk
Dissertation supervisor: Dr Michael Mantzios, michael.mantzios@bcu.ac.uk
This dissertation project is organised by Birmingham City University and participants can also get in contact with the Business, Law & Social sciences faculty ethics committee directly if required: blssethics@bcu.ac.uk