초록
This study focused on family stresses and coping strategies among commuting couples. The participants of this study consisted of a national samples of 134 couples(268 individuals), who had been commuting for at least six months. The major findings obtained from the study are summarized in the following: First, the degree of family stresses among commuting couples was 2.98, when the maximal stress value was set to 5.0. No difference in the level of stress was detected from the roles of the wife and those of the husband. The most stressful aspect for the commuting couples came from the role of parents who care for their children. The second stressful aspect was their responsibility for their own parents, and finally the stress from the housework and maintenance of their marital lives followed next. There was no difference between the wives and husbands on the stressors. Secondly, the level of the coping strategies developed by the commuting couples themselves against their stresses was 3.37, when the maximal stress coping value was set to 5.0. Again, there was no difference in this level between wives and husbands. Among the strategies, they used ‘cognitive restructuring’the most frequently; sharing their responsibilities with other members in family life came next; and developing their own techniques to manage their stresses followed. Thirdly, the ages of the couple, the age of the first child, type of jobs, duration of the marriage and commute, and frequency of meeting affected the level of family stress among commuting couples. Finally, commuting couples developed quite different strategies to cope with their family stresses, and religion and family type affected significantly the type of coping strategies.