• Korean Journal of Child Studies
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• v.35 no.4
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• pp.103-122
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• 2014

The purpose of this study was to identify the variables affecting parenting efficacy of North Korean refugee mothers. The selected variables were marital satisfaction, social support, and acculturation. The participants consisted of 105 mothers who had defected from North Korea with preschool children living in Seoul, Gwangmyeong-si, and Gyeongsangnam-do provinces. The data thus collected were analyzed by descriptive statistics, t-tests, correlation, and multiple regression analysis. The results indicated that the marital satisfaction and social support had meaningfully positive effects on the parenting efficacy of North Korean refugee mothers. However, marginalization was found to be a predictor of competence-anxiety in parenting. The selected variables derived from the environmental systems in maternal parenting were significant factors in the parenting efficacy of North Korean refugee mothers and furthermore, their sociocultural environments were also important in parenting. These findings clearly showed that marital satisfaction and social support were the most significant variables of parenting efficacy of North Korean refugee mothers. The results of this study appear to have a great deal of utility as preliminary data to improve the parenting efficacy of North Korean refugee mothers.

• Korean Journal of Childcare and Education
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• v.11 no.6
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• pp.59-78
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• 2015

This study aims to explore the relationship between North Korean refugee mothers' perceived home psychological characteristics and ego-resilience of their young children focusing on moderating effect of social support. For this purpose, we sampled 96 North Korean refugee mothers with 3-5 year old children. Home psychological characteristics consisting of family strength, family environment and family functioning, social support, and ego-resilience was analyzed by Pearson correlation analyses and hierarchical regression method. The results of this study were as follows. First, there is a significant correlation between North Korean refugee mothers' perceived home psychological characteristics and ego-resilience of their young children. Second, the perceived factors by North Korean refugee mothers of home psychological characteristics explained their young children's self-resilience 73.4% of the time and social support had a significant moderating effect. These results suggest that more effective social support to North Korean refugees has to be offered. Not only financial but emotional support is also needed.

• Korean Journal of Childcare and Education
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.41-69
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• 2016

The purpose of this study is to promote the use of cultural facilities of North Korean refugee mothers with young children by finding out their past experience of cultural facility use. The subjects of this study were 183 North Korean refugee mothers with young children and a total of four research participants. A survey and in-depth interviews were used to draw reliable research results. The research results are as follows: First, as to uses of cultural facilities, North Korean refugee mothers with young children got information about cultural facilities through the Internet community such as Internet cafes and blogs. Their considerations for using cultural facilities were diversity of activity programs and subdivision of performances and arts activities. Over 50% of mothers responded that cultural facilities were needed to enhance the creativity of their children. Second, concerning difficulties of cultural facility use, the most difficulty was high costs, and the second most difficulty was absence of cultural facilities nearby their residence. Third, as to the needs of cultural facility use, a children's library was needed the most for children's development. They responded that the most necessary policy for cultural facility use was to increase cultural vouchers for low-income households and to expand recipients of these vouchers.

• Child Health Nursing Research
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.269-279
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• 2022

Purpose: This study investigated the factors that influence parenting stress, including hardiness, parent-child interactions, and social support, to provide basic data for developing a program to reduce parenting stress in North Korean refugee mothers. Methods: A descriptive study design was used. Data were collected between September and December 2021, and 123 North Korean refugee mothers participated. Results: The mean scores were 69.42 out of 135 for hardiness, 48.45 out of 144 for interactions, 47.32 out of 90 for social support, and 51.84 out of 90 for parenting stress. The parental distress score was higher than that of child-related stress. Hardiness was significantly related to North Korean refugee mothers' parenting stress. Multiple regression analysis indicated that the explanatory power for hardiness and the number of supporters was approximately 19% for parenting stress (F=6.84, p<.001). As such, the factors with a relatively strong influence on parenting stress were hardiness (β=-.40, p<.001) and having four or more supporters (β=-.27, p=.027). Conclusion: This study's findings suggest the need to identify ways to increase North Korean refugee mothers' psychological hardiness and encourage them to extend their sources of social support and enhance their style of parenting.

• Child Health Nursing Research
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.102-110
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• 2013

Purpose: This study was done to develop a theory on the early childhood caring experience of North Korean refugee mothers and how such caring affects how they deal with the socio-psychological problems they face as North Korean refugees. Methods: Data were gathered by indepth interviews, participant observation, and medical records, and were analyzed using the Grounded Theory methods of Strauss and Corbin (1998). Results: From open coding 62 concepts, 23 subcategories and 11 categories were derived, and the North Korean refugee mothers' caring experience was revealed to be 'hopeful upbringing'. A central theme common to the participants was 'coexistence of expectations and worries'. Conclusion: The results of this study provide theoretical grounds to understand North Korean refugee mothers' child care experiences and offer personalized nursing and a deeper understanding of their needs by looking at their experience. Findings may also be useful to help nurses who care for North Korean refugee mother-child dyads in the community and in clinical settings to gain insight on this special needs group, and facilitate the development of interventions based on better understanding of the mothers' experiences.

• Korean Journal of Childcare and Education
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• v.9 no.5
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• pp.201-228
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• 2013

The research goal of this study is to investigate the realities and difficulties of English education for young children of North Korean refugee mothers. The subjects of this study were 201 North Korean refugee mothers of 3-5-year-old children. They were surveyed and some of them were interviewed on their children's English education. The results of the study are as follows. First, most of the North Korean refugee mothers in this study provided their children with English education since their children were 3 years old. The major reason for the English education was their children's peer group who received English education early in their lives. Their educational interaction periods with their children were less than 10 minutes, and they had their young children study English alone, focusing solely on their assignment. Next, North Korean refugee mothers claimed that the biggest difficulties for teaching English to their children were cost, lack of information, lack of time to teach English, and unsatisfactory English education. They expressed that the cost for English education was a burden on the family to some extent.

• Child Health Nursing Research
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.129-141
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• 2024

Purpose: The study investigated the relationships between key variables, including the level of parenting knowledge, acculturative stress, depression, and the strengths and difficulties associated with their children's emotions and behavior, among North Korean refugee mothers who faced the challenging task of adapting to Korean society while raising their children. Methods: A descriptive study design was used. Data were collected from 130 North Korean refugee mothers between September and November 2023. Results: The participants had very limited parenting knowledge, and 82.3% of them scored 21 or higher on the depression scale used in community epidemiological studies. Higher levels of parenting knowledge and lower levels of depression were associated with lower levels of acculturative stress. Moreover, higher levels of depression were associated with more emotional and behavioral difficulties in children. Maternal depression, age, and employment status were identified as factors that influenced emotional and behavioral problems in preschool-aged children. Conclusion: These findings underscore the importance of providing parent education and mental health support programs for North Korean refugee families in order to improve parents' parenting skills and emotional well-being.

• Child Health Nursing Research
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.300-312
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• 2023

Purpose: This study investigated knowledge of atopic dermatitis and food allergies, as well as health information literacy, among North Korean refugee mothers with preschool-age children and explored how these variables were related to participants' characteristics. Methods: A descriptive study design was used. Data from 130 North Korean refugee mothers were collected between January and March 2023. Results: The mean scores were 14.48 of 30 for atopic dermatitis knowledge; 2.77 of 10 for food allergy knowledge, and 56.95 of 80 for health information literacy. Significant differences were observed in knowledge of atopic dermatitis based on breastfeeding duration (F=4.12, p=.009), and in knowledge of food allergies based on mixed feeding (F=3.11, p=.049). Health information literacy showed significant relationships with education level (F=3.76, p=.026), occupation (F=3.99, p=.021), checking nutritional information (t=2.91, p=.004), mixed feeding (F=4.50, p=.014), and atopic dermatitis diagnosis (t=6.86, p=.001). Significant positive correlations were observed between atopic dermatitis knowledge, food allergy knowledge, and health information literacy. Conclusion: Personalized educational programs should be implemented to improve awareness of allergies and health information literacy among North Korean refugee mothers, which would help them find, evaluate, and understand health-related information. These programs should focus on providing nutrition and dietary education to promote healthy growth in children and prevent diseases.

• Korean Journal of Child Studies
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• v.37 no.1
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• pp.17-36
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• 2016

Objective: Taking note of the fact that North Korean refugee children experience frequent separation from their mothers and long-term maternal deprivation during their childhood, this study examined the relationship between children's separation experiences and attachment. Methods: A total of 37 children aged from 5 to 9 were assessed on their attachment using the Separation Anxiety Test, and their mothers reported on their child's separation experiences. Results and Conclusion: The major findings of this study were as follows: first, the result of evaluating their attachment pattern showed North Korean refugee children had a high level of insecure attachment with a high tendency for avoidant attachment. This avoidant attachment tendency is probably due to growing up in a repressed emotional environment by frequently experiencing maternal separation in North Korea, China, and even after settling down in South Korea. Second, children's secure attachment level was higher if they did not experience separation from their mother, if their mother had a high level of education in South Korea, or if they lived with a big family.

• Child Health Nursing Research
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.72-83
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• 2023

Purpose: North Korean refugee women struggle with the double burden of adaptation and parenting as mothers in a new environment. This study aimed to identify the knowledge, confidence, and educational needs regarding newborn care among North Korean refugees, and to determine differences between these variables according to participants' characteristics. Methods: Data were collected from September to October 2022, and 150 North Korean refugee women recruited using convenience sampling participated in the study. Descriptive statistics, the t-test, analysis of variance, and Pearson correlation analysis were used for data analysis. Results: The mean scores were as follows: parenting knowledge, 14.97 out of 25; infection prevention knowledge and confidence, 20.09 out of 33 and 51.37 out of 80, respectively; and educational needs, 245.86 out of 310. Significant differences were observed in newborn care, knowledge, and confidence according to maternal age, educational level, family structure, and pregnancy history. Significant positive correlations were observed between the participants' newborn care knowledge, confidence, and educational needs. Conclusion: Personalized educational programs should be implemented to enhance North Korean refugee women's confidence in newborn care, focusing on areas with low knowledge levels and high educational needs and enabling women to achieve healthy pregnancy and childbirth, and to parent well.