Attachment-Oriented Caretaking Behaviors and Related Factors in Mothers of Breast-feeding Infants

모유수유 영아모의 애착 지향적 양육행동 및 관련요인

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to identify the characteristics and the related factors of attachment- oriented caretaking behavior in mothers who are breast-feeding their infants. Method: The subjects were 155 mothers who participated in a healthy breast-feeding contestin the Busan area. The data were collected from September 24, 2003, and were analyzed using SPSS WIN 10.0. Results: The mothers were highly affirmative in their attachment-oriented caretaking behaviors (total mean 2.59±.502 of a possible score of 3). Among the attachment-oriented caretaking behaviors (10 items), the scores for 6 items were higher than the average score and 4 items were lower than the average score. There were significant differences in the attachment-oriented caretaking behaviors according to level of education (p＜0.05), and planned duration of breast-feeding (p＜0.001). Mothers with university education who planned to breast-feed as long as the baby wanted had higher scores. Conclusions: The above results suggest that nursing interventions which are individualized and practical are needed to encourage the attachment-oriented caretaking behaviors essential to breast-feeding mothers.