The Conditional Context Governing Informal Care Provision

Abstract

The purpose of this chapter is fourfold. First, social exchange theory and its application to support provision and receipt in intimate relationships is presented. The review delineates how support and care provision and receipt is more conditional than certain. The second part of the chapter addresses intersectionality and how supportive exchanges are impacted by gender, race and ethnicity, level of material resources, age, and marital status. The third part of the chapter addresses broad, societal level factors that have negatively impacted the ability of families to be supportive of others. The increasing level of risk inherent in late modernity and the negative impact of rationalization processes and neoliberalism are discussed. The final section of the chapter introduces the importance of infusing caring in our societal structures as a way to bolster the informal supportive capabilities of individuals and individual families. Several ideas are presented for consideration.