Filial Caregiving Burnout in the Chinese Cultural Context: Conceptualization, Scale Development, and Longitudinal...

In China, the Confucian norm of filial piety has historically framed eldercare as an important responsibility of adult children. Amid rapid population aging, caregivers frequently experience profound exhaustion. While traditional assessments capture caregiver burden, they may be less sensitive to role- and culture-embedded experiences such as emotional detachment, relational strain, and value dissonance arising when caregiving realities conflict with internalized obligations. Although the phenomenon of Filial Caregiving Burnout (FCB) has been recently identified, it lacks a formal theoretical definition and measurement tool. To address this limitation, we conceptualize FCB and develop a culturally grounded, multidimensional scale. Using an exploratory sequential mixed-methods design, qualitative interviews first generated the initial item pool. Subsequent quantitative evaluations across three independent caregiver samples (N = 1653) refined and validated the structure via exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, alongside measurement invariance testing. Finally, a two-wave longitudinal design assessed predictive validity. The finalized 17-item FCB Scale features a robust three-factor structure: physical and mental exhaustion, relational detachment, and dysregulation of filial piety value. It demonstrated excellent internal consistency (α = 0.948), acceptable model fit, and measurement invariance across gender and Hukou type. Longitudinally, higher baseline FCB significantly predicted lower subsequent family and job performance and higher subsequent family undermining and counterproductive work behavior. Moving beyond generic burden metrics, the FCB Scale captures relational and value-laden aspects of filial caregiving burnout and provides a multidimensional tool for assessing burnout experiences among adult-child caregivers.