A Scoping Review of Spouse and Adult-Child Dementia Caregiver Burden: Who Bears the Brunt of the Burden?

Objectives: Limited research has examined spousal and adult-child differences with dementia caregiver burden. To address this gap, objectives of this scoping review were to: (1) synthesize differences in caregiver burden between spouse and adult-child dementia caregivers, and (2) determine whether a relationship status group consistently experienced more caregiver burden. Methods: A literature search was conducted in October 2024, using PubMed, Ovid, and Scopus databases. Articles written in English published between January 1991 and June 2024 were included if they: (1) examined impacts of caregiving for an individual with any form of dementia; (2) reported kinship distribution and/or stratified results by relationship status; and (3) examined caregiver burden as a separate variable. Studies were excluded if they: (1) described a condition without a dementia diagnosis; (2) included caregivers not stratified by kinship; or (3) examined a caregiver tool like a physical assistive device as a moderator. Results: A total of 15 studies met review criteria and were divided into quantitative (N = 14) and qualitative interview (N = 1) studies. Six found adult-children caregivers experienced more caregiver burden than spousal caregivers. Four studies found spouses experienced more burden. One study showed live-in adult-children reported the most burden, followed by spouses, and then non-live-in adult-children. Three studies found no difference. Lastly, one qualitative interview study documented profound differences by caregiver type. Conclusion: Results of this scoping review were mixed as to which group consistently felt more total burden. Future longitudinal investigations should further examine these associations, especially given an increasingly aging world.