Complex atypical caregiving: navigating the margins of unique caregiver roles and burdens

The incidence and prevalence of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRDs) significantly impact care recipients, caregivers, and broader society. Most caregivers of ADRD care recipients are family members. These informal caregivers often experience health, emotional, and practical difficulties in their roles as informal caregivers of loved ones with ADRDs. Most family caregivers are adult children or spouses of ADRD care recipients. Complex atypical caregiver roles may include role reversal, unique caregiving dynamics, or multiple roles. For example, these roles may include a minor child taking care of their parent with a young onset condition, someone with an ADRD diagnosis also taking care of their loved one with a similar condition, or a parent taking care of their child with a neurodegenerative condition that would more typically involve the child taking care of the parent. This perspective format manuscript will discuss unique atypical caregiver roles with emphasis on common challenges experienced by this unique caregiver group and potential for resilience. Recommendations will include exploration of opportunities to increase attention to the topic of atypical caregiver roles, improve clinical practice strategies, and promote additional research focused on complex atypical caregivers and the individuals with ADRDs.