• Journal of Family Resource Management and Policy Review
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.85-94
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• 2022

This study aims to investigate predictors of the subjective well-being of middle-aged single mothers who experienced divorce or bereavement. The study involved 244 divorced or widowed women from the 7th Korean Longitudinal Survey of Women and Families aged 40-60 who had children and were employed. Descriptive statistics and multiple regression analyses were conducted. The research results showed that the socio-demographic characteristic (marital status and health), person-related variables (satisfaction with leisure activity and stress), and work-related variables (job satisfaction and work-family enrichment) were significantly related to happiness of middle-aged single mothers. Current economic status and stress were associated with depression in middle-aged single mothers. Increasing middle-aged single mothers' participation in healthy leisure activities, reducing their stress, and improving their satisfaction with work were found to be important to enhancing their subjective well-being. Regarding the foregoing, policy directions were discussed for middle-aged single mothers' leisure activities, stress management, and improved satisfaction with work.

• Industry Promotion Research
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.55-62
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• 2021

The number of single-parent families in South Korea increased since 2000, related to a sharp rise in the divorce rate of 50s and an increase in male mortality rates among those aged 40s-50s. Middle-aged single mothers experience a critical period realizing self-actualization needs, while being in the middle adulthood from the lifespan developmental perspective. In this respect, it is significant to study self-actualization of middle-aged single mothers through guided imagery and music (GIM) in order to provide them with psychological support. This study was conducted from September 2018 to June 2020, and the GIM sessions were conducted at least 10 times. Four participants were selected among the middle-aged single mothers. The imagery experiences of participants in the GIM sessions were classified into four sub-elements: physicalness, emotion, memory, and sense. Within those sub-elements, eight semantic units were categorized into 46 elements. Finally, 152 semantic units were derived. Moreover, the self-actualization which participants experienced through GIM presented three archetypal images: shadow, persona, and the self. In the GIM sessions, experiences of putting their negative emotions associated with family into words and changing passive self-imagery into active one enabled participants to bring the shadow into their consciousness, there by recognizing their positive and bright internal self. Furthermore, participants could map that their current status as people marginalized by siblings and parents, enraged and holding double standards for others, was suppressed by their 'good daughter' and 'religious' personas. This realization lead them to realize and restore their persona. The use of GIM in the study allowed participants to elicit re-experiences of the negative events, while experiencing various imagery and music. This process helped participants achieve self-actualization.

• Journal of Families and Better Life
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.197-208
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• 2009

The purpose of this study is to examine the intergenerational transmission of mother-daughter attachment across three generations, and to determine whether the mother-daughter attachment of three generations influences the adult daughter's ego-resilience. The subjects of this study were 310 unmarried adult women aged 20${\sim}$29, residing in the Busan area, and their 310 middle-aged mothers. The mothers responded to two sets of questionnaire investigating their attachment to their mothers (G1-G2) in the past and the present attachment to their adult daughters (G2-G3). Meanwhile, the adult daughters were given questionnaires regarding their attachment to their mothers and their ego-resiliency. The measurements used for this study were the Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment (IPPA) and the Ego-Resiliency Scale (ER). Among the distributed questionnaires, 265 sets were collected and 252 sets were actually analyzed using SPSS 12.0 after 13 sets had been excluded due to incomplete data. Basic statistics were used such as frequency analysis, Pearson's correlation and hierarchical regression analysis. The study results were as follows. First, the adult daughter-mother (G2-G3) attachment was explained mostly by mother-grandmother (G1-G2) attachment, daughter's age, and economic status of the family. The strongest factor was the mother-grandmother attachment which implies the transmission of attachment through generations. Second, among the factors that influenced the ego-resilience of an unmarried adult daughter, attachment to one's mother perceived by the daughter turned out to be the most significant. Especially, the more positive the adult daughter's emotion toward her mother and the higher the daughter's education, the stronger the ego-resilience of the adult single daughter was. It was concluded that the mother-daughter attachment remained consistent throughout three generations, which influenced the social-psychological adjustment of the adult unmarried daughter.