Maternal Efficacy Influenced by the Internet - Based on environment & actual condition of internet used by the mother -

The purpose of this study was to research the actual state of mother's internet use and to explore the possibility of the internet use as a social support. The affect of mother's internet use on maternal efficacy is also examined. The Subjects were 250 mothers, who have their first child under 8 years old, in Seoul and Ilsan. Data were gathered through questionnaires. As predicted, mother's internet use was popular among young mothers. And, the main reason of internet use of mothers was to find some information on parenting and nurturing child. Moreover, mothers believed that they could get some social support from using internet in terms of informational, instrumental, and emotional service. However, it should be noted that mother's perceived level of support was significantly different, depending on mother's age, level of mother's education, household income, and the age of the first child. It was also found that mothers who received social support from internet showed higher material efficacy. Thus, we believe that internet use could be a new source of social support for the mothers of young children.

어머니의 인터넷 이용 실태 및 인터넷 이용이 양육 효능감에 미치는 영향