Navigating Interdependence

The End-of-Life Caregiving Process of Adult Only Children Caring for Their Parent

Dados Bibliográficos

ID14993755
AutoresZhiqi Yi (0009-0009-7054-5608, University of Kansas, autor correspondente), Nili Wang (Beijing Normal University), Sarah Jen (0000-0001-8584-7443, University of Kansas), Shuo Xu (0000-0002-8602-1819, Renmin University of China)
Ano2025
Páginas10497323251371503-10497323251371503
Data de publicação2025-09-12
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessSim
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoQualitative Health Research (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 1049-7323 • E-ISSN: 1552-7557
EditoraSAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/10497323251371503
PMID40938755
OpenAlexW4414161485
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas1
Referências citadas24

The one-child policy has shaped the life trajectories of millions of only children in China. As this cohort ages into mid-life, providing end-of-life care to their aging parents is becoming a critical social issue. Their lived experiences and sociopolitical context likely lead to distinctive end-of-life caregiving experiences; however, to date no existing literature has investigated this phenomenon. This study uses a convenience sample of 15 adult only children who provided at least one month of end-of-life care leading up to their parents’ death to explore their caregiving process. This study uses thematic analysis to present findings. The emergent caregiving process encompasses four phases of interdependence depicted through the metaphor of charting a sailing voyage: (1) Sailing Out of the Harbor: Continued Interdependence and Life Routes; (2) Navigating Back to the Harbor: Inverted Interdependence and Shifting Life Emphasis; (3) The Collapsing Harbor: Decoupling Interdependence and Preparation for Bereavement; and (4) The Navigator’s and Harbor’s Reconstruction: The Divergent Interdependence and Social Life. Three turning points sequentially connect the four phases: (1) realizing the severity of the illness and shifting to prioritize caregiving; (2) sensing the impending death; and (3) death of and farewell to the parent(s). The parent–child relationship anchors the process, while sociocultural context and illness progression drive the process forward. Practitioners can provide competent psychosocial care in response to the unique dynamics of interdependence and caregiving stress in individual cases. Advocacy for death education and policies that promote hospice and palliative care are recommended

Cohort · Context (archaeology · Metaphor · Palliative care · Psychosocial · Social environment · Sociocultural evolution · Thematic analysis · Family Support in Illness · Grief, Bereavement, and Mental Health · Intergenerational Family Dynamics and Caregiving