Providing family support and depression: Focussing on babyboom women

여성 베이비부머의 부양지원 제공과 우울

Objectives: This study observes how providing family support - financial, emotional, and instrumental - is related to depression in babyboom women. Method: I analysed data from the Korean Longitudinal Survey of Women and Families 5th wave, collected by the Korean Women's Development Institute. The analysis was conducted using regression, t-test, Chi-square test, frequency analysis, and Pearson's correlation analysis. Results: Financial support for grown-up children, either married or unmarried, increases depression in babyboom women. In the dimension of instrumental support, caring for grandchildren reduces babyboom women's depression. It implies that contact with grandchildren is perceived as an emotional support rather than a physical burden. The results of this study also show that babyboom women are comforted by living with their own parents, but not by living with parents-in-law. The most impressive observation, however, is in the dimension of emotional support, which showed that the conversation with elderly parents reduces baby-boom women's depression, but that the conversation with married children increases it. The opposite directions in the effects seem to be related to the subjects of the conversations. The subjects of the conversation with children are mostly about problems and agenda of the children, while those with elderly parents are mainly about parents' health and care for each other. Conclusions: The results of the analyses suggest that babyboom women should become less involved with their grown-up children's lives. It also calls for the societal efforts to be put into building up the support system, especially for eco-boom generation, to reduce babyboomer's burden of supporting the children.