Burnout and Depression Among Sandwich Generation Caregivers: A Brief Report

Abstract

Twenty-nine percent of adults in the U.S. care for children, and 12% to 24.3% of those adults are multigenerational caregivers who also provide unpaid care for one or more adults. These adults are considered members of the “sandwich generation,” which is a term for multigenerational caregivers who provide care, financial support, and emotional support for both their children and parents. The present study characterized the sandwich generation and examined how sandwich generation caregivers differed from caregivers of children, caregivers of parents, and non-caregivers regarding burnout and depression. We found that sandwich generation caregivers and caregivers of parents reported significantly higher levels of informal caregiving burnout than caregivers of children. Compared to non-caregivers, all caregivers reported significantly higher levels of personal burnout. Burnout is higher in sandwich generation caregivers and those who care for parents than burnout among those who care only for children. Future studies should investigate additional variables that affect burnout.