This study explored markers associated with the advance-planning patterns & emotional health of adult child caregivers pre-selected for their history of childhood abuse within the family. An informational decision grid & two classification procedures were used to organize & link 246 written plans of 50 adults providing nearly 6 hours of care per day to a cognitively impaired parent. 31 participants taking an instrumental approach to planning were significantly more likely than the 17 taking a grief-driven approach to report experiences of abandonment, betrayal, suicide ideation, & use of alcohol. The 2 participants taking a person-centered approach did not recount experiences of distress or emotion-focused coping. (46 refs.) JA