• Journal of Families and Better Life
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• v.28 no.5
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• pp.251-262
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• 2010

This study examines the relationship between a mother's psychological well-being and children's problematic behavior(withdrawal, depression anxiety, aggression and emotional instability). In order to expand the study on the relationships, special attention was given to the possible mediator effects of mother's coping style with children's negative emotions. The subjects were 305 mothers with children 4-5 years old residing in the cities of Cheonan and Seongnam. It was found that mother's psychological well-being was significantly related to the level of children's withdrawal, depression anxiety, aggression and emotional instability. The mother's coping style with children's negative emotions were also significantly related to the mother's psychological well-being. In addition the mother's coping style with children's negative emotions was found to be a significant mediator of the relationship between mother's psychological well-being and children's. This was especially so for internal problems behavior as like withdrawal, depression anxiety and emotional instability that were perfectly mediated by the mother's coping style with children's negative emotions. Aggression, external problems behavior was partially mediated by the mother's coping style.