"If I Don't Take Care of him, who Will?" Caregiving Through the Eyes of Adult Offspring of Patients Hospitalized with Alcohol-Related Liver Disease

AIM: To investigate the informal caregiving experiences of adult offspring of patients recently hospitalized with alcohol-related liver disease (ALD).

METHODS: A narrative analysis was conducted building on 13 semi-structured qualitative interviews with adult offspring of patients who were recently hospitalized with ALD at a department of medicine. Analytical frameworks were the rites of passage framework and its concept of liminality, combined with Taylor's social imaginaries and Järvinen and Bloch's complementary role requirements.

RESULTS: Adult offspring of patients with ALD described longstanding mental health issues that had worsened in response to their parent's repeated hospitalizations. They described how internalized and institutionalized ideas about family shaped a strong sense of moral obligation to care for their parent, which was often intensified when hospital staff implicitly positioned them as caregivers. The offspring described a prolonged liminal phase marked by recurring crises that prevented them from regaining a stable and ordinary everyday life.

CONCLUSIONS: The study demonstrates the emotional and moral dilemmas of informal caregiving in adult offspring of a parent hospitalized with ALD. This is a psychosocially vulnerable group whose wellbeing may be further compromised when they are drawn into caregiving roles. Healthcare professionals should avoid reinforcing such roles and rather engage in open dialogue, acknowledge their position and needs.