The morality of lying to my grandparent with dementia

We used a morality of care perspective to examine how grandchildren cope with having to deceive or lie to their grandparent with dementia. Data from interviews with 13 young adults were analyzed using interpretative phenomenological analysis. We found that a moral orientation shift toward a person-centered morality of care occurs gradually. Grandchildren struggle with concepts of moral goodness, importance of close others, and questions about self as a moral agent. We uncovered three antecedents of this shift (severity of dementia symptoms, valuing of the grandparent's welfare, and valuing of the relationship) and three outcomes (transformation of moral self, changed relationship with the grandparent, and changed family relationships). Implications of a morality of care in intergenerational dementia relationships are discussed.