Role Reversal and Emotional Labor: Family Caregiving for Alzheimer’s Patients in Urban Chinese Contexts

BACKGROUND: Alzheimer’s disease poses a growing health crisis in China, exacerbated by the country’s rapidly aging population and cultural emphasis on family‐based care. Caregivers shoulder immense physical and psychological burdens, often struggling to reconcile personal expectations with the demands of caregiving. METHOD: This study based on ethnographic data collected through prolonged engagements with a family in urban China caring for an adult diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, explores the application of Role Theory. This framework explains the sequential stages of role assumption, enactment, ambivalence, and disengagement, offering insights into the complicated dynamics of caregiving within China’s cultural context. RESULT: While existing studies have identified factors influencing caregivers' “willingness” and “psychological stress” primarily through assessments of psychiatric distress, the practical applications of theoretical models in caregiving practices for this population in China, especially those documented through first‐hand experiences, remain underexplored. Drawing from diverse sources, including academic research and firsthand accounts, this study discloses the dynamic process of role transitions in practice. Particularly, we explore the transition from a career‐focused individual to a full‐time caregiver and the subsequent role reversal between parents and children as the illness progresses. CONCLUSION: By clarifying the dynamic interplay of roles and responsibilities within caregiving relationships, insights gained through this in‐depth case study applying Role Theory in practice can offer a roadmap for improving caregivers' well‐being and optimizing patient care outcomes.