A shared understanding of purposeful caregiving: Reply to Hill, Wynn, and Carpenter (2020)

Replies to comments made by P. L. Hill, M. J. Wynn, and B. D. Carpenter (see record 2019-81943-006) on the original article by S. F. Lang and B. J. Fowers (see record 2018-24691-001). Hill, Wynn, and Carpenter's (2020) discussion of Alzheimer's caregiving being motivated by purposeful engagement is a welcome perspective. Their views are timely, given the growing literature on caregiving as a deeply meaningful and worthwhile activity. Hill et al., however, focus on caregivers' subjective perception of caregiving as purposeful, disregarding the source of this perspective. It is reasonable to see the shared relationship history between caregivers and their loved ones as a primary source of the purposefulness of caregiving. This reply offers an integration of caregivers' purposeful activity with shared identity. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).