Autonomy, Agency and Power in Care Relationships
Autonomy, Agency and Power in Care Relationships
Tuesday, 8 July 2025: 11:00-12:45
Location: FSE037 (Faculty of Education Sciences (FSE))
RC11 Sociology of Aging (host committee) Language: English
Dependency on care is typically understood as a loss of autonomy and feared by many older people. A reconfiguration of adult children-parent relationships accompanies the care for parents. In her study of the provision of care to ageing parents by adult children, Karen Pyrken (1999) used the lens of micro-politics of care in relationships, focusing on power relations.
For this section, we have taken inspiration from Karen Pyrken's work and want to extend the question of powerlessness, autonomy and agency to the relationship between the older adult care receiver and the caregiver, both formal and informal. These relationships are very dynamic and changeable depending on the needs of the ageing person. Similarly, who has more power in this relationship can be highly variable in how both parties can exercise their autonomy and agency.
In this section, we welcome theoretical contributions inspired not only by Karen Pyrken's work but also by drawing on other relevant theories and concepts and empirical analyses of care relationships or methodological contributions to the topic.
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