Role Reversal: You Don't Go Home Again

Role reversal is variously referred to in the literature as a concept, a perspective, a description, and a viewpoint. Role reversal refers to a particular view of parent-child relationships in late life, one that emphasizes "parenting the parent." This paper takes the position that a role reversal orientation is inaccurate and inadequate for describing parent-child relationships in late life. It further takes the position that role reversal is conceptually, ideologically and therapeutically limiting.