Care Burden Avoidance Awareness and Anticipatory Transition: A Qualitative Life Course Approach to Men

• In Event: Aging and the Life Course Section Roundtables
  In Refereed Roundtable (90 minute): 4: Family Caregiving

Abstract

This study conceptualizes "Care Burden Avoidance Awareness" among men in their late 60s and early 70s in Japan and the U.S.. This age group stands at a critical anticipatory transition, where the prospect of needing care begins to feel imminent. Unlike previous generations where care was a gendered duty, these men navigate a historical "threshold" between traditional obligation and neoliberal choice. Drawing on qualitative narrative interviews, the research investigates how direct and vicarious (observed) caregiving experiences shape their future expectations.

The analysis reveals that these men do not simply shift "from duty to choice"; instead, they navigate a complex "choice of duty". While American narratives often equate dependency with a loss of autonomy, Japanese narratives demonstrate a unique "ambiguity" rooted in relational harmony. For some Japanese men, maintaining ambiguity regarding future plans is a strategic form of "masculine kindness"—a choice to avoid strictly enforcing traditional patriarchal responsibilities on siblings or their wives who currently provide care.

By choosing not to clarify future plans, these men attempt to protect family harmony, even as it contradicts modern paradigms of explicit care planning. However, this defensive ambiguity may inadvertently increase the risk of social isolation and "solitary death" (kodokushi). This study highlights how plural masculinities converge with self-responsibility ideals during the transition toward later life.

Author

• Shizuko Katagiri, Kagoshima University