Social Support and Hope of the Unwed Mothers in the Facilities

미혼모의 사회적 지지와 희망

Social support may play an important role in relieving the feelings of guilt and shame of unwed mothers due to social insults and ignorance and in helping them from physical and psychological harm caused by them. In addition hope may encourage to seek out a new way of life. To determine if a relationship between perceived social support and hope exists in unwed mothers a descriptive study was conducted in the facilities providing basic data for promoting the health of unwed mothers. A demographic data sheet and two instruments were used : Indirectly Perceived Social Support Scale(IPSSS) developed by Park Jee Won (revised by Jo Moo Yong), Miller Hope Scale(adapted and revised by Lee Mi Ja), 95 unmarried mothers participated. The mean score of perceived social support was 3.17. Family support was the highest(3.47) and unwed father support was the lowest(2.53) in sub-scales. Material support(3.53) was the highest in family support. Emotional support(3.58) was the highest in friends support. Informational support(3.39) was the highest in facilities-concerned personal support. The mean score of hope was 3.41 : the satisfaction with self, others and life was the highest(3.82) and anticipation of future was the lowest(3.27) in sub-scale. There was not a statistically significant relationship between social support and hope. A statistically significant relationship was found between facilities-concerned personal support and hope. In conclusion, facilities-concerned positive encouragement for unwed mothers and a program promoting support and hope from families, friends and unwed father are necessary to promote hope and health in unwed mothers.