Duo-autoethnography reveals relational and class dynamics in parental caregiving, suggesting social class fundamentally shapes care-receptivity and family negotiation.
Key Points
The study investigates how divergent socioeconomic backgrounds shape the communicative, emotional, and structural complexities of parental caregiving across different health trajectories.
Conducted a duo-autoethnographic, dialogic narrative analysis based on the lived experiences of a gay couple caring for four aging parents with varying health conditions (terminal cancer, dementia, alcoholism, sudden death, and prolonged decline).
Synthesized personal accounts using theoretical frameworks from family communication, gerontology, and the medical humanities.
Identified that caregiving functions as an ongoing, non-linear communicative negotiation of authority, responsibility, and relational labor rather than a mere set of logistical tasks.
Introduced the concept of care-receptivity, demonstrating that socioeconomic class dictates not only resource access but also whether individuals can accept assistance without compromising identity or dignity.
Highlighted structural burdens, including moral exhaustion, decision fatigue, and anticipatory knowing, that arise when caregivers hold high responsibility without formal decision-making authority.