When tradition meets modern demands: Compassion fatigue in informal caregiving through the job demands-resources model

Aims To examine compassion fatigue among informal caregivers from ethnic minority populations. Using the Job Demands-Resources model, this study explored two pathways among 100 Arab informal caregivers: (1) an energetic pathway where demands are associated with compassion fatigue via burnout, moderated by cultural and family resources; and (2) a motivational pathway where resources are associated with compassion fatigue via job engagement, moderated by demands. Methods A cross-sectional study of 100 informal caregivers recruited from three Arab communities in northern Israel during 2022. Participants provided daily assistance to elderly family members with functional or cognitive impairment. Data were collected using validated Arabic-language questionnaires and analyzed using Hayes PROCESS Model 9. Results Supporting the energetic pathway, family support (but not filial piety) significantly moderated both the subjective caregiver burden-burnout-compassion fatigue pathway (Index = -0.177, 95% CI [-0.366, -0.052]) and the number of caregiving activities-burnout-compassion fatigue pathway (Index = -0.404, 95% CI [-0.882, -0.007]). In the motivational pathway, both caregiver burden (Index = 0.146, 95% CI [0.055, 0.267]) and number of caregiving activities (Index = 0.219, 95% CI [0.061, 0.427]) moderated the filial piety-job engagement-compassion fatigue pathway, while family support showed no significant moderated mediation effects. Conclusion The Job Demands-Resources model effectively captures compassion fatigue in Arab informal caregivers. Practical family support provides consistent protection, while cultural values show conditional effects, protective under low demands but diminished under high demands. Interventions should prioritize strengthening practical family support systems while managing cultural expectations to prevent them from becoming additional sources of burden.