CONFLICT BETWEEN FAMILY CARE AND EMPLOYME NT AS A PROBLEM FOR THE THEORY OF ACTION

The problem of what adult children consider and how they decide in a s ituation in which their own employment and the need for care of an eld erly parent come into conflict is used in this contribution as an empi rical ''whetstone'' for the explanation of social action. For this pur pose the author refers to approaches drawn of from family sociology an d as well to rational-choice models. Assumptions made by both as well as their explanatory content in regard to social action are discussed critically In order to overcome the dichotomy between the oversocializ ed participant in the approach of normative guided action and the homo oeconomicus of the rational-choice approach the author proposes model s of action by Alfred Schutz and Pierre Bourdieu. Empirical patterns o f knowledge and action show their greater adequacy for the topic studi ed here. To analyze patterns of social action categories are needed wh ich are able to take into consideration the social embeddedness of aim s, purposes, and preferences, and, at the same time, strategic behavio r in regard to social evaluation. This conceptual claim is underlined by empirical strategies of adults caring for a parent. Schutz's concep tions of a stock of social knowledge and Bourdieu's economy of practic e comprise both.