Advancing a New Research and Policy Agenda for Young Adult Caregivers of Older Family Members

Karen L. Fingerman, Zexi Zhou, William E. Haley, and Steven H. Zarit 

Key Findings

Young adults aged 18 to 29 increasingly play a vital role in the family caregiving landscape, often stepping in to support older relatives when other caregivers are unavailable. Estimates suggest that up to 10 million young adults in the U.S. are caregivers, but their needs remain understudied and poorly understood. Unlike older caregivers, young adults are simultaneously navigating key developmental transitions—such as completing education, starting careers, and forming long-term relationships. In the brief, CAPS Research Director Karen Fingerman and colleagues describe key research questions to better understand the characteristics, motivations, burdens, rewards, and potential long term consequences of caregiving among young adult caregivers. The authors then outline a new research and policy agenda to address the needs of young adult caregivers. 

Key Questions 

• Why study young adult caregivers separately from other age groups? 

• How do we define caregiving in young adulthood? 

• Where do young adults fit in the caregiving network? 

• What tasks do young adults perform when caregiving? 

• Why do some young adults become caregivers? 

• How do beliefs about family contribute to becoming a caregiver in young adulthood? 

• How do young adults appraise the burdens and rewards of caregiving? 

• How does caregiving impact young adults’ current and long term future well-being? 

• Research and policy: Where do we go from here? 

Why study young adult caregivers separately? 

Young adult caregivers face distinct challenges compared to older caregivers, including balancing caregiving with education, career development, and personal relationships. The implications of caregiving in young adulthood may impede successful entry into adult roles, with repercussions that last for decades. Nevertheless, caregiving at this stage helps fill critical gaps in family care networks. Studying young adult caregivers separately can reveal challenges specific to this age group and inform the development of tailored interventions. 

How do we define caregiving in young adulthood? 

Caregiving in young adulthood refers to unpaid assistance—including both everyday tasks and medically oriented support—provided to older relatives with physical and cognitive declines, typically grandparents. The definition encompasses a range of activities, such as meal preparation, coordinating healthcare and administering medication, though most often young adults provide companionship, monitoring, and tasks such as errands. Researchers emphasize both the function and context of this care, noting how these roles integrate into the caregiver’s evolving adult identity. How caregiving is measured varies across studies. Care recipients sometimes list their caregivers, and they are less likely to list young adult caregivers than midlife grown children or aging spouses. When individuals self-report whether they are caregivers, however, a larger percentage of young adults identify themselves as caregivers. These discrepancies suggest that young adults may be under-acknowledged in the caregiving network.  

Where do young adults fit in the caregiving network? 

Young adults often function within multi-generational caregiving networks, collaborating with parents, siblings, and other kin to share responsibilities. Their roles may include logistical tasks (such as scheduling and transportation), emotional support, and occasionally facilitating medical care. These young adults, who are no longer dependent adolescents, but have not all reached full adult independence, offer valuable flexibility and bridge support. They may fill in when other caregivers cannot or step up in an emergency. Their participation is influenced by familial structure, cultural norms, residence location, and the availability of paid support systems. 

What tasks do young adults perform when caregiving? 

Young adult caregivers engage in tasks ranging from personal care (bathing, feeding) and household chores (meal preparation, cleaning) to medical support such as managing medication and attending appointments. They often assume administrative roles—handling insurance, coordinating with providers—and provide emotional care through companionship. The intensity and nature of their tasks may extend beyond what might normally be expected of their age group, especially when paid care is unavailable. This breadth of responsibility draws on their adaptability but may also strain their emerging adult roles. 

Why do some young adults become caregivers? 

Several factors influence who takes on caregiving: the care recipient’s needs (e.g., cognitive impairment, frailty), resource scarcity, and absence of other caregivers. Being unmarried, female, or living in a multigenerational household all increase the likelihood of caregiving. Additionally, young adults from racial and ethnic minority groups and those from lower socioeconomic backgrounds often provide care due to cultural expectations and shared living arrangements. For these reasons, research on young adult caregivers needs to pay special attention to the caregivers’ demographic characteristics and living arrangements.  

How do beliefs about family contribute to becoming a caregiver? 

Cultural norms of familism—emphasizing loyalty, interdependence, and duty—are key motivators for caregiving among young adults, particularly in minoritized racial and ethnic groups. These beliefs shape how caregiving is viewed: as normative, meaningful, and expected, rather than burdensome. Familial values may also buffer caregiving stress by providing emotional validation. However, these norms can further reinforce obligations and exacerbate strain if support is limited. 

How do young adults appraise the burdens and rewards of caregiving? 

Young caregivers experience multifaceted burdens—including financial strain, time constraints, mental stress, and interference with education or employment. At the same time, caregiving can foster personal growth, empathy, and stronger family bonds. Appraisal of caregiving reflects a balance between stressors and sources of reward, influenced by individual (e.g., coping strategies) and contextual (e.g., social supports) factors. Stress-and-coping models help illustrate how positive appraisal can mitigate negative impacts. 

How does caregiving impact well-being? 

The impacts are complex: caregiving can disrupt education and early career progression, contribute to poorer physical health, and elevate risk for anxiety or depression. Conversely, it can enhance self-efficacy, life purpose, and intergenerational connection. The lasting effects include both potential detriments and benefits. Indeed, while caregiving during young adulthood may have long-term negative impacts on the financial stability, educational attainment, and health of caregivers, it may also lead to their emotional growth and resilience. Longitudinal study is needed to map these trajectories beyond early caregiving roles. 

Research and Policy: Where do we go from here? 

While caregiving in young adulthood shares similarities with later-life caregiving, it also presents distinct challenges that require a tailored research lens and policy approach (see figure). Theoretically, a cohesive framework is needed to build on current caregiving models (for example, sociocultural, stress and coping). This model should integrate stressors, cultural beliefs, and perceptions of burden and reward to inform targeted interventions. Future research in this area must account for the experiences of racially and ethnically diverse young adults, who often face earlier onset of family health challenges and systemic barriers in caregiving roles. Culturally adapted interventions, proven effective for older caregivers, may also benefit younger adults.  

Current policies fail to fully account for the caregiving roles young adults often assume. For example, the U.S. Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) does not extend protections to those caring for grandparents, great-aunts, or other extended family members—roles commonly filled by young adults. Additionally, higher education institutions and workforce training programs have been slow to recognize or accommodate the caregiving responsibilities that can interfere with young adults’ academic and career progress. To better support this population, policies must evolve to offer more flexible, inclusive resources that reflect the diverse caregiving networks and life circumstances of younger caregivers. 

Future research should employ innovative data collection approaches capable of capturing the irregular, often unscheduled nature of caregiving among young adults. Mixed-methods and qualitative studies are especially valuable, as they can integrate the perspectives of young caregivers, their care recipients, and family members to provide a comprehensive understanding of caregiving dynamics. These approaches will help inform the development of responsive programs and policies that address the specific needs of young adult caregivers. 

Reference 

[1] Fingerman, K., Zhou, Z., Haley, W.E., & Zarit, S.H. (2025). Young adult caregivers for older family members: setting a new research agenda. Innovation in Aging 9(4):igae112. https://doi.org/10.1093/geroni/igae112 

Suggested Citation 

Fingerman, K., Zhou, Z., Haley, W.E., & Zarit, S.H. (2025). Advancing a new research and policy agenda for young adult caregivers of older family members. CAPS Research Brief 4(1). DOI: https://doi.org/10.26153/tsw/60812. 

About the Authors 

Karen L. Fingerman (kfingerman@austin.utexas.edu) is the Wilson Regents Professor in the Department of Human Development and Family Sciences, director of the Texas Aging and Longevity Consortium and director of research for the CAPS Program Development and Pilot Core at The University of Texas at Austin; Zexi Zhou is a PhD student in the Department of Human Development and Family Sciences, UT Austin; William E. Haley is a distinguished university professor in the School of Aging Studies at the University of South Florida; and Steven H. Zarit is a distinguished professor emeritus in the Department of Human Development and Family Studies at The Pennsylvania State University. 

Acknowledgements 

This article was supported by the following grants from the National Institute on Aging (NIA): R01AG087118 (Fingerman, PI); P30AG06614, awarded to the Center on Aging and Population Sciences at The University of Texas at Austin, and P30AG066589, awarded to the Center for Advancing Sociodemographic and Economic Study of Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias awarded to the University of Southern California. It was also supported by P2CHD042849, awarded to the Population Research Center at The University of Texas at Austin by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.