Caregiving: Adult Child–Parent

Abstract

Most adults prefer to stay with family when they get older and require assistance with day‐to‐day activities or chronic health issues. However, the many stresses associated with caring for a parent can be difficult for the adult child to manage. As they care for an aging parent, adult children can feel isolated and deprived of social connections with others. In often putting their parent's needs above their own, adult child caregivers' physical and mental health may be left unattended. Additionally, adult children may be caring for their own children, and in some cases grandchildren, too – leaving them without a known support system to communicate with that truly understands their challenges. Other caregiver–care receiver‐related challenges can include conflicts stemming from adult child and parent role reversal, as well as difficulties in defining family caregiving roles and responsibilities – particularly amongst adult child siblings. For the primary adult child caregiver, receiving social support and expressions of gratitude from other family members is significant in reducing any potential conflict and increasing the adult child's feelings of adequacy in their caregiving efforts.