Sandwich Generation Expat
entry by Julie M. Marx, Global Family Expert at Expat Valley
An internationally mobile individual who simultaneously carries caregiving responsibilities toward both dependent children and aging parents, often in different countries. The geographic distance of expatriate life accentuates the challenge of fulfilling obligations to both generations.
Comparable terms
Multigenerational caregiver (social work, clinical — domestic equivalent) · Middle generation squeeze (informal, community) · Transnational caregiver (migration studies — emphasizes cross-border care obligations) · Sandwich carer (UK social policy — domestic usage)
Why this matters
These adults are pulled in two directions while also navigating their own mobility. They face unique strains around guilt, time, and financial pressure. Without targeted support, the risk of burnout, health issues, and career derailment is high.
Cross-references
Cumulative Loss (Wellbeing & Mental Health); Family Resilience (Family Dynamics); Anticipatory Grief (Wellbeing & Mental Health); EAP (Wellbeing & Mental Health). Cumulative loss accumulates distinctively in sandwich generation individuals — losses of parents’ health and presence compound losses of children’s developmental milestones across geographic distance. Family resilience describes the systemic capacity that sandwich generation expats must maintain while carrying caregiving demands in multiple directions. Anticipatory grief arises in both directions — anticipating parental decline and anticipating the disruptions that relocation imposes on children. EAP is often the only organizational support resource available when these combined pressures become unsustainable.
Sources
“Sandwich generation expat” is in active practitioner and coaching use but has limited academic sourcing under this exact compound term. The sandwich generation concept originates with: Miller, D.A. (1981). The ‘sandwich’ generation: Adult children of the aging. Social Work, 26(5), 419–423. The transnational care dimension is sourced from: Baldassar, L., Baldock, C.V., & Wilding, R. (2007). Families Caring Across Borders. Palgrave Macmillan.
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