NAVIGATING INTERDEPENDENCE - THE END-OF-LIFE CAREGIVING PROCESS OF ADULT ONLY CHILDREN CARING FOR THEIR PARENT

Sep 28, 2026

The one-child policy has shaped the life experiences of only children in China, and end-of-life care for aging parents has become a critical social issue. This study investigates adult only children’s end-of-life caregiving process using a convenience sample of 15 participants and a social constructionist paradigm with an in-vivo approach and thematic analysis. The process unfolds in four interdependence phases—charting a sailing voyage—with three sequential turning points grounded in illness severity, anticipated death, and parental death or farewell. Sociocultural context and illness progression guide movement through phases, while implications support psychosocial care and recommend death education and policy for hospice and palliative care.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryHealthcare

FormatPDF

Pages1

Reading Time3 min

AccessFree to download

Overview

Study design and method

Four-phase interdependence caregiving process

Turning points and drivers

Implications and recommendations

770 Innovation in Aging, 2025, Vol. 9, No. S2 3. Renmin University of China, Beijing, Beijing, China (People’s Republic) The one-child policy has shaped the life experiences of millions of only children in China and providing end-of-life care to their aging parents is becoming a critical social issue. Their unique lived experiences 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 end-of-life caregiving process. Adopting a social constructionist paradigm, this study uses the “In-Vivo”approach to theory-building and thematic analysis to visualize and 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; 2) Navigating Back to the Harbor: Inverted Interdependence and Shifting Life Emphasis; 3) The Collapsing Harbor: Decoupling Interdependence and Preparation for Bereaved Life; 4) The Navigator’s and Harbor’s Reconstruction: Divergent Interdependence and Social Life. Three turning points sequentially connect the four phases: 1) realizing the severity of the illness and caregiving should be the main task; 2) sensing the possible coming death; 3) death of or farewell to the parents. 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 policy to promote hospice and palliative care are recommended. Abstract citation ID: igaf122.2616 NAVIGATING INTERDEPENDENCE: THE END-OF-LIFE CAREGIVING PROCESS OF ADULT ONLY CHILDREN CARING FOR THEIR PARENT Zhiqi Yi1, Nili Wang2, Sarah Jen1, and Shuo Xu3, 1. University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas, United States, 2. Beijing Normal University, Beijing, Beijing, China (People’s Republic),

FAQs

What does the study aim to explore about adult only children?

It explores how adult only children experience and carry out the end-of-life caregiving process for their aging parents, addressing an area with limited prior research.

How was the study conducted?

Using a convenience sample of 15 adult only children, it applies a social constructionist paradigm with an in-vivo approach and thematic analysis to build theory and summarize findings.

What are the four phases of the caregiving process?

The process comprises: sailing out of the harbor (continued interdependence), navigating back (inverted interdependence and shifting life emphasis), the collapsing harbor (decoupling interdependence and preparation for bereaved life), and reconstruction (divergent interdependence and social life).

What recommendations does the study make for practice and policy?

Practitioners are encouraged to provide competent psychosocial care responsive to interdependence and caregiving stress, and the study recommends death education and policy to promote hospice and palliative care.

Sep 28, 2026

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