Os cuidados familiares à luz da teoria da ambivalência sociológica: «Os dois lados da moeda»

Increasing longevity implies «more life years» while not guaranteeing immunity from chronic illness, incapacity and dependence, inevitably creating greater need for care (formal and informal) from the state, society and the family.The state, social policy, family and intergenerational relationships seek to respond and find solutions to the challenge that incapacity and dependency set. Dependency and family care are two concepts that tend to emerge, however they are bound by the same etymology root, signifying relations of interdependence. In order to give greater visibility to the hidden world of family care, an empirical study was carried out involving fifty-two (semi-structured) interviews with families that looked after adults with severe incapacity in the Inner Lisbon area. How do you decide to care for someone? What does organising the care process mean? What are the dynamics that are created between the various family members? How is responsibility shared? How do you describe the experience? How does mutual family support work? These and other questions were possible thanks to the sense given to everyday family life by those involved in situations of dependence. From love to duty, from justice to aversion and violence, these are some of the justifications used, making family care a complex and ambivalent process, where solidarity and conflict can coexist.