‘Sociology of Care & Support’ and Family Studies: Focusing on Studies on ‘the Socialization of Care for the Elderly’

This paper attempts to summarize the recent tendency of the literature towards family caregiving and social support and to clarify an important research theme regarding the sociology of families. The development of systems for universally providing formal care services to individuals has given rise to many studies on caregiving and social support. This study first investigates the origin and direction of this field by reviewing studies on family caregiving for the elderly and physically disabled adults and children. It then overviews the studies conducted and developed after the increase in provision for formal care services that came with the mid-1990s. From this overview, we unravel two focal points in this field of research. The first point indicates that there exist many explanatory studies focusing on individuals engaged in care-giving and the interaction between the individuals involved. The second point concerns an approach that reconsiders the characteristics of intimacy for human beings and citizenship. This approach can be observed in studies on the familial aspect of “quasi-family relationships” and in arguments on social support for family caregivers.