• Journal of Family Relations
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.131-153
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• 2017

Objective: This study aimed to examine the effects of adult children's marriage-delay on their parents' mental health. Furthermore, this study investigated how the influence of adult children's marriage-delay on parents' mental health could vary depending on the coresidence and employment status of the marriage-delayed adult children. Method: Two waves of Korean Longitudinal Study of Ageing (KLoSA) were used for the analyses. Multiple regression models were conducted with 2,938 Korean parents who had at least one child, regardless of gender (aged 33~44). Results: First, adult children's marriage-delay was related to lower levels of parents' life satisfaction. Second, the levels of parents' life satisfaction were low regardless of residing with their marriage-delayed adult children, and the parents who were not living with their marriage-delayed adult children showed lower levels of life satisfaction than parents living with marriage-delayed adult children. Third, only the parents with unemployed marriage-delayed adult children showed significantly higher levels of depression. However, the levels of parents' life satisfaction were low regardless of the employment of marriage-delayed adult children, and the parents of unemployed marriage-delayed adult children showed lower levels of life satisfaction than the parents of employed marriage-delayed adult children. Conclusions: It is necessary to consider the effects of marriage, employment and coresidence of adult children on their parents in order to enhance the mental health of the parents. Also, the effects of marriage-delay on intimate relationships, such as family dynamics, need to be explored more in further research.

• Journal of Families and Better Life
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• v.29 no.6
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• pp.137-151
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• 2011

This study examines the condition of transfers between mothers and adult children, analyzing the influencing factors in such transfers. Specifically the study examines the influence of financial transfers and economic resources on financial transfers and grandchild caregiving between mothers and adult children. The sample of 3719 mothers with adult children was extracted from the first wave of the Korean Longitudinal Survey of Women and Families. The major findings are as follows. Mothers's socio-demographic characteristics are important factors in explaining financial transfers between mothers and adult children. Mothers who have jobs and spouses are more likely to provide economic resource to their adult children than those who don't have. In terms of receiving economic resources from adult children, statistically meaningful factors are mothers' age, labor market participation, marital status, household income, household asset, and children's labor market participation. Especially, labor market participation of mothers and adult children is statistically powerful factor in financial transfers and caregiving.

• Journal of Families and Better Life
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.139-158
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• 2017

Following the global trend of the delayed transition to adulthood, the number of unmarried middle aged adult children living with, or economically dependent on their parents has increased in Korea. Middle aged adult children in Korea are traditionally expected to satisfy their duty to support their elderly parents both in economic and emotional needs. This study aims to explore group differences in unmarried adult children in their mid 30s or older and in parents having unmarried middle aged child(ren) depending on co-residency and the children's eonomic dependency in Korea. Using quota sampling in terms of living arrangements (living together vs. living apart), 500 unmarried adult children 35 years of age or older and 500 elderly parents, having at least one unmarried child in the mid of 30s or over, were selected in Seoul, Korea in June 2016. First, the findings show that unmarried adult children living together with their parents and depending on their parents economically were in the lowest level of educational achievement and the lowest level of monthly average income among the respondents. Second, both unmarried adult children and parents from the group of co-residency and economically dependent showed the lowest level of psychological well-being. Third, parents from the group of co-residency and economically independent had mostly positive relationships with children, whereas, parents from the group of living apart and economically dependent reported the most negative relationships. Finally, respondents included in the group of co-residency had positive attitudes toward marriage and the support for their elderly parents regardless of the child's economic dependency. This study has implications for the increasing number of unmarried middle aged adult children and their elderly parents.

• Journal of the Korean Home Economics Association
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• v.46 no.2
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• pp.85-96
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• 2008

Given the evolving nature of the family unit, a large number of children are being left unsupervised after school. The purpose of this study is to understand the adaptation ability and emotional capacity of these children. To achieve this objective, we investigated the different characteristics of 708 middle-school students in Seoul, dividing them into two categories adult-care children, for whom adults provide care after school, and self-care children for whom no adult supervision was present. In particular, we examined children's adaptation to the school environment and possible self-consciousness difference between self-care and adult-care children, in consideration of their family characteristic; divorced, separated, widowed parent, remarried parents, ordinary families. The results showed that self-care children tend to have a higher rate of shame-proneness and guilt-proneness compared to adult-care children. Furthermore, self-care children exhibited lower school adaptation rate than adult-care children. There was no significant difference in schoolmate relationships between the two groups. In relation to specific family structures, children from reorganized families showed no significant differences in school adaptation and self-conscious, while self-care children from ordinary families revealed low school adaptation and high self-conscious characteristics. The results of this study are critical in the effective analysis and understanding of children's adaptive and emotional behaviors arising from changes in their family structure.

• 한국노년학
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.611-627
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• 2009

The purpose of this study is to compare in the U.S. and Korea regarding adult children's quality of relationship and care provision for their elderly parents. The study sample consist of 320 adult children in the U.S. and 554 adult children in Korea with at least one parent living. The U.S. study sample is drawn from the State of California, and the Korean sample is drawn from Gyeongsangnamdo Province. The study result shows that the U.S adult children score higher than the Korean adult children in the quality of relationship measure for their elderly parents. And Korean adult children score higher than the U.S. adult children in the care provision measure for their elderly parents. It is found that the most significant factor influencing American adult children's care provision is caregiving attitude for elderly parents, while for Korean adult children, it is the quality of the relationship between adult children and elderly parents. This study results can serve as a foundation for understanding the U.S. and Korean differences regarding adult children's support for their elderly parents and for providing a solution to caregiving issues for elderly parents.

• Journal of the Korean Home Economics Association
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• v.43 no.7 s.209
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• pp.37-51
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• 2005

The purpose of this study was to determine the level of caregiving behaviors of adult children and the main factors influencing the caregiving behaviors of adult children. This research was based on a survey conducted with 620 adults, from 30 to 59 years old, living in the Seoul metropolitan area, with at least one living parent. Statistical analysis was carried out using SPSS/WIN including frequencies, t-test, one-way ANOVA and regression analysis. no results were as follows. First, the level of caregiving behaviors of adult children varied with background variables, such as birth ranking and job for the children-related variables, and age of mother, income level and type of living for the parents-related variables. Second, the level of caregiving behaviors of adult children varied with the degree of emotional solidarity between the adult children and their parents. Third, the caregiving behaviors were significantly different according to gender as gender played an important role in differentiating the motives for caregiving behaviors.

• The Korean Journal of Community Living Science
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.221-231
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• 2016

This study was conducted to investigate the effects of participation in adult education on cognitive function, and the mediating effects of relationships with children among older adults. This study employed data from the 2011 Elderly Survey, and a total of 8,668 older adults over 65-years old were used for analysis. Multiple linear regression analyses were used to examine the mediating effect of relationship with children based on the approach proposed by Baron & Kenny (1986). The results showed that participation in adult education increased cognitive function of older adults. Adult education participation also increased satisfaction with relationship with children, and relationship with children was found to have a mediating effect. These findings suggest that there is a need to recognize the importance of the relationship between older adults and children when developing education programs for older adults.

• Korean Journal of Social Welfare
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• v.47
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• pp.206-242
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• 2001

A survey research was conducted for a sample of 306 adult children who have an elderly parent or both parents alive. The purpose of the research was to test a structural equation model which specified the effects of early family relationships on comtemporary relationships and assistance patterns between adult children and their parents. The data were analyzed using EQS for Windows 5.7, utilizing maximum likelihood method. The results showed that early family relationships affected filial concern first, which in turn affected the level of assistance provided by adult children for elderly parents. No direct effect has been found between early family relationships and the level of assistance by adult children for elderly parents. Filial concern was played as an intervening variable. Early family relationships gave no direct effects to adult children's intention to assist their parents. Here again, filial concern was played as an intervening factor. Adult children's intention to assist their parents had not been led directly to provision of actual support to parents by their adult children. Thus, it was identified that intention to support is one thing, and the actual support is another. Controlling for the effects of filial concern, overall, early family relationship patterns gave no differential effects to the different aspects of support provided to parents by their adult children. On the basis of these results, this paper provided both discussions and suggestions for some strategies of intervention in the present family relationships in order for the inter-generational exchange of supports to happen in the future.

• The Korean Journal of Community Living Science
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.557-572
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• 2011

This study examines the effect of adult-children support network on the psychological well-being of the single and couple elderly households in rural areas. Adult-children support networks include both structural and functional characteristics. For the purpose of this research, 476 participants, who are older than 60 years old, living in rural areas, were selected. The results of this study are summarized as follows: the average degree of psychological well-being of the rural elderly was high. Emotional support from adult children was higher than economic or instrumental support. In the case of the single elderly households, adult children's economic support was the strongest variable affecting the psychological well-being. In the case of the couple elderly households, adult children's emotional support had the greater effect on psychological well-being. On the basis of this analysis, policy implications regarding the single and couple elderly households in rural areas were discussed.

• Journal of Families and Better Life
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• v.32 no.5
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• pp.87-105
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• 2014

The purpose of this study was to investigate the factors associated with instrumental support (i.e., economic and practical support) from parents to their adult children. We examined both parents' attitudes toward instrumental support for adult children and parents' actual provision of instrumental support. From the data of the 2010 second National Survey of Korean Families, we selected 532 mothers and 524 fathers who were married and had at least one adult child aged over 25. Multiple regression analyses by the parents' gender showed that fathers were more likely to agree with instrumental support for adult children in general when they had unmarried children, had a lower household income level, had a lower evaluation of their socio-economic class, were satisfied with their own household economic situation, had positive attitudes toward caregiving for elderly parents, and were satisfied with their couple relationships. For mothers, they were more likely to agree with instrumental support for adult children in general when they had positive attitudes toward caregiving for elderly parents, were satisfied with their couple relationships, and perceived their child as someone to rely on in times of difficulties. Our analyses of the actual provision of support indicated that fathers tended to provide more support when they perceived that they were healthy, had unmarried children, were less satisfied with their household economic situation, had negative attitudes toward child-rearing, and reported a higher quality of parent-child relationship. For mothers, they were more likely to provide actual support when they were healthy, had unmarried children, had a higher level of household income, were financially preparing for later life, and less satisfied with their couple relationships. The findings of this study imply that it is imperative to distinguish the attitudes toward support from the actual provision of support and to also consider parents' gender in the literature on instrumental support for adult children.