How Sharing Dementia Care Can Shape Adult Children’s Well-Being
Gilligan, M., Skoblow, H. F., Lee, J., & Ogle, D. (2026). Sharing in caring: Perceptions of (in)equality and mental health among siblings caring for a parent with dementia. Research on Aging. https://doi.org/10.1177/01640275261450640
This study focuses on how siblings share the responsibility of caring for a parent with dementia and how that can affect their mental health. Caring for a parent with Alzheimer’s disease or a related dementia can be stressful, emotional, and time consuming. In many families, adult siblings work together to help with things like appointments, daily care, decision-making, and emotional support. However, caregiving is not always split evenly, and the way adult children feel about that division may matter.
To better understand this, researchers studied 208 adult children from 110 families who were caring for a parent with Alzheimer’s disease or a related dementia. Participants answered questions about their caregiving experiences, mental health, loneliness, positive emotions, caregiver burden, and social support. Caregiver burden refers to the stress and strain someone may feel from providing care. Participants were also asked whether they felt they provided more care than their sibling, their sibling provided more care than they did, or care was shared about equally.
The researchers found that adult children who felt they were doing more caregiving than their sibling reported higher caregiver burden. This higher burden was connected to more depressive symptoms, more loneliness, and fewer positive emotions. In comparison, adult children who felt their sibling was doing more of the caregiving reported lower caregiver burden. The study also found that social support was related to better mental health overall, but it did not explain the connection between unequal caregiving and mental health.
These findings show that caregiving is not only about the tasks that need to be done, but also about how family members experience and understand those responsibilities. When one sibling feels like they are carrying more of the caregiving role, it may lead to added stress and emotional strain. This does not mean that every caregiving task must be divided equally. Siblings may have different schedules, resources, relationships with the parent, or abilities to help. However, open conversations about who is doing what may help reduce misunderstandings and feelings of unfairness.
Overall, this study shows the importance of paying attention to sibling relationships when families are caring for a parent with dementia. Families, caregivers, and professionals may benefit from discussing caregiving roles early and finding ways to make the responsibilities feel more manageable and supported by everyone involved.