Care Economies in Context

Recording of “Care peaks, plateaus, and loops: narrative insights on stress from family caregivers for seniors” now available

Alexa Carson’s talk took place on April 17 as part of Care Economies in Context speaker series

On April 17, 2026, Alexa Carson and Ito Peng presented “Care peaks, plateaus, and loops: Narrative insights on stress from family caregivers for seniors,” as part of the Care Economies in Context Speaker Series. The recording is now live.

Recording

Abstract

With an aging demographic and increasingly stretched care services in many countries, the issue of unpaid care for seniors is a growing concern for families and policy makers alike. Empirical evidence highlights how unpaid caregiving can be a stressful and challenging experience. In this paper, we draw from and build on the stress process model, which conceptualizes caregiver stress as augmenting over time (Pearlin et al. 1990; Pearlin, Aneshensel, and Leblanc 1997), as well as relational framing from life course theory (Elder 1994; Elder and Giele 2009) and feminist political economics (Klostermann et al. 2022). Based on 57 in-depth interviews with unpaid caregivers for seniors across Canada, we articulate two non-mutually exclusive caregiver stress patterns that add nuance to understandings of caregiver stress. First, many caregivers describe their caregiving in peaks and plateaus, with minimal stress much of the time and spikes in stress at moments of crisis and transition. Second, some care journeys involve loops, with care for one senior ending, followed by care for another beginning shortly thereafter, which influences caregiver decisions and meaning making about care. We then highlight how socioeconomic status and complex care situations inequitably shape caregiver experiences.

Previous events

This event was the sixth edition of the Care Economies in Context Speaker Series. Previous events include: