• The Korean Journal of Community Living Science
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.47-55
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• 2005

The purposes of this study are to examine the economic conditions and parenting of custodial fathers/mothers and to explain their impacts on the children's social adjustment after divorce. A total of 185 custodial parents divorced within the last 5 years completed a structured questionnaire. Children's social adjustment was the dependent variable in this study and was defined as their school performance and behavior problems. Results show that compared with divorced custodial fathers, divorced custodial mothers demonstrate more effective parenting, but there were no differences in economic conditions between them. In addition, children in single-father divorced families have lower school grades and more behavior problems than those in single-mother divorced families. Results also indicate that the economic conditions and parenting have different effects for children across family type. For children raised with a custodial father in divorced families, the economic conditions and the divorce duration are associated with lower school grades and behavior problems. For children with a custodial mother, however, the effective of parenting and the children's age have significant effects on the children's social adjustment after the parent divorced. Based on these results, this study proposes strategies for the improvement of children's adjustment in divorced families.

• Journal of the Korean Home Economics Association
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• v.48 no.8
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• pp.87-97
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• 2010

The purposes of this study were to explore the differences in maternal parenting behaviors and mothers' family stress by children's sex and parental divorce and to investigate the relationships of maternal parenting behaviors with mothers' family stress in low income families. Participants of this study were 166 children of 4 to 6 grades and their mothers from low income divorced and intact families. The data were analyzed by descriptive statistics, two-way ANOVAs, Pearson's correlations. The result were as follows: Girls perceived more maternal warmth than boys in divorce families, but boys perceived more maternal warmth than girls in intact families. Boys perceived more maternal supervision than girls in intact and divorced families. Mother of divorced families had more childrearing stress than mothers of intact familes. In divorced families, children whose mothers had high levels of childrearing stress perceived less maternal warmth and supervision, and children whose mothers had high levels of work-family conflicts perceived less maternal warmth. In intact families, children whose mothers had high levels of economic stress perceived less maternal supervision.

• Journal of Families and Better Life
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.59-75
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• 2013

The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore how divorced mothers had decided to take custody of their children and became single mothers. The experiences of their lives after divorce were also explored. Data were collected from 17 Korean divorced mothers who were divorced between 2004 and 2009, and were raising at least one minor child. The data were analyzed based on the phenomenological data analysis method. Three main themes were identified: (a) reasons for deciding to have physical custody of the children, (b) mothers' experiences of adjustment after divorce, and (c) mothers' need for a policy concerning the well-being of their families. According to the divorced mothers, they decided to have physical custody of the children since they believed raising children was their natural duty of mothers or they were the most appropriate ones to raise the children rather than the fathers. While the mothers were satisfied with their lives after divorce in general, they also experienced difficulties including child care and financial strain. In particular, most mothers experienced work-family conflict related to the lack of reliable child care. When their family lives and work lives collided, the mothers put their children first and chose jobs that helped them take care of their children at the same time. The divorced single mothers hoped that the social safety net for single parents would expand to support their independence. Implications for single-parent policy are discussed.

• International Journal of Human Ecology
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.25-35
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• 2005

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of family-school relations on children's school adjustment with divorced mothers. Subcategories of the family-school relations were family participation in decision making, family help for schools, learning activities at home, school help for families, and school-home communication adopted from Epstein's parent involvement theory. Sub categories of children's school adjustment were delinquent behavior and academic achievement. The sample of this study included 3,367 children from first to fifth grade who lived either in a two-parent or one-parent home. Among them, 411 children with divorced mothers were analyzed. Independent t-test, Pearson's correlations, stepwise regression analysis were all conducted. Findings suggested that children with divorced mothers showed higher delinquency and lower academic achievement than children in intact families. Sub categories of family involvement and school involvement were correlated in divorced families. Children's delinquency was predicted by three of the family-school relation factors, which were school-home communication, family help for schools, and school help for families. Children's academic achievement was predicted by ail factors.

• Human Ecology Research
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• v.51 no.4
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• pp.439-454
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• 2013

The purpose of this study is to explore Korean divorced mothers' experiences of noncustodial fathers' involvement in children's lives after divorce and co-parenting relationships. The data were collected from 17 mothers who were divorced between the years of 2004 and 2009, and were raising at least one minor child. Data were analyzed based on the inductive data analysis method. Divorced mothers' experiences of noncustodial fathers' involvement in children's lives after divorce were categorized in three ways: a satisfactory on-going relationship, a dissatisfactory on-going relationship, and a discontinued relationship. The results show that a few mothers were satisfied with the degree of the fathers' involvement in the children's lives 1) if the fathers were interested in their children and responsive to their children, and 2) if the fathers paid either child support or provided some financial supports for their children based on the fathers' financial abilities. However, the majority of the mothers were dissatisfied with the degree of the fathers' involvement in the children's lives. While some of the mothers maintained a relationship with the children's fathers despite their dissatisfaction, others discontinued the relationship. Regarding the co-parenting relationship after divorce, the relationships with the fathers were classified as either cooperative relationships or uncooperative relationships. The majority of the mothers experienced difficulties establishing cooperative co-parenting relationships with the fathers, but three mothers had cooperative relationships. The reasons for these uncooperative relationships were: uncooperative fathers, uncooperative mothers, or ambiguous communication regarding parenting after divorce. These findings suggest parenting education for divorced parents.

• Journal of Families and Better Life
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.181-191
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• 2004

The purpose of this study was to examine the social support network for divorced single mother families. The data were gathered through in-depth interviews with seven divorced single mothers who had at least one school-age child. Qualitative analysis of data showed that divorced single mothers evaluated themselves based on other people's perception. There were mainly three different kinds of self-images, which were “a competent divorced woman,” “a bad child to my parents,” and “a socially weak person.” We also found that there were two factors that influenced the everyday lives of single mothers: all of them .;offered hardships in living as a divorced woman with children, and they also had to deal with the weakened solidarity with family of origin, relatives, and neighbors. Single mothers shared common problems yet their lifestyles and adjustment strategies were diverse. Therefore, diverse social welfare policies for education and counseling for single mothers are urgently needed to support and empower divorced single mothers.

• Korea journal of population studies
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.17-43
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• 2011

With a substantial rise in divorce rates since the mid 1990s, single-parent households are increasing rapidly in Korea. Often it is believed that children in single-mother households suffer the most economically and socially with the marital disruption of the parents. This study hypothesizes that in Korea the socioeconomic status of single-father households may be lower than that of single-mother households mainly because low-income divorced women are not able to form their own households with children. The analysis is based on two sub-samples from the 2% sample of the 2005 Census, one, with children 12 years old or younger and, the other, with divorced mothers of children of the same ages. The findings support the hypothesis that previously-married single fathers show the lowest educational and occupational status among 6 groups of parents: fathers and mothers from two-parent families, fathers and mothers from married but spouse-absent families, and previously-married single fathers and mothers. Divorced mothers'likelihood of living apart from their children has a strong negative association with their educational attainment, with the highest likelihood among women of middle school or lower education and the lowest likelihood among women with college education. Although single mothers comprise a larger percentage of single-parent households, single-father households demonstrate a particular vulnerability with their weak socioeconomic status.

• Journal of the Korean Home Economics Association
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• v.43 no.6 s.208
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• pp.145-169
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• 2005

This study aimed to evaluate Comprehensive Croup Therapy Program developed for children and mothers of divorced families. The research questions were to determine first, any differences between program participants and non-participant in the areas of life wellbeing, attitude towards divorce, self-esteem, and communication skills as a result of this program; and second the durability of these effects three months after implementation of the program. The subjects of this study were 41 children and 14 mothers of the divorced families. Among them, 18 children and 6 mothers, including 5 mother-child dyads were assigned to experimental group, while 23 children and 8 mothers, including 8 mother-child dyads, to control group. Both groups received pre-and post-test evaluation but experimental group additionally received a follow-up test. The data were analyzed by t-test, Mann-Whitney U Test, Wilcoxon Matched-Pairs Signed-Ranks Test and qualitative analysis. The results showed that therapy Program enhanced the life wellbeing of both child and mother participants significantly, and this effect lasted for at least for three months after the termination of the program. Second, though the effects were not statistically significant, child and mother participants' attitude towards divorce, self-esteem, and communication skills between mother and child changed positively after the program and these effects lasted for over three months.

• Journal of the Korean Home Economics Association
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• v.44 no.8
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• pp.23-32
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• 2006

Understanding the experience of parents without custody after divorce is important in terms of facilitating their adjustment and positive relationships with their children. Ninety-two noncustodial parents divorced within the previous 5 years completed a structured questionnaire. We examined differences between noncustodial fathers and mothers in terms of the frequency of the contact and the relationship satisfaction with children. In addition, using the regression model, we analyzed the effects of several characteristics of noncustodial parents, including gender, on the frequency of contact as well as the relationship satisfaction with children. The main results of the study are as follows. First, noncustodial fathers and mothers exhibited similar low levels of contact by phone and in-person visits. Second, noncustodial parents with a child older than 8 years old visited the child more frequently, and were more satisfied than noncustodial parents with younger children. Third, the level of desire to gain the child custody had a significant effect on the frequency of contact and the satisfaction of the relationship between the noncustodial parents and their children. Fourth, noncustodial parents with more positive feeling about their former spouse contacted more frequently with the children. Fifth, compared with noncustodial fathers, noncustodial mothers demonstrated a higher relationship satisfaction with their children.

• Journal of the Korean Home Economics Association
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• v.35 no.4
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• pp.211-228
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• 1997

The purposes of this article were to find the general trends of single mothers and their children's stress family resources and coping to estimate the correlation among variables and to analyze the effects of related variables family resources influencing coping and stress. The data were analyzed from the 566 single mothers and their children living in Kwang-ju. The major findings were as follow; 1. Scores of single mothers' and their children's stress family resources were lower than median. But scores of single mothers' coping were higher than median. Their problem-solving coping were higher than emotional coping. 2. Widowed single mothers' stress were related to family resources and emotional coping. Divorced single mothers' stress were related to emotional coping. Children's stress were related to emotional coping. Single mother's stress coping were related to stress of children. 3. Single mothers' coping were influenced by financial well-being family strength I and family strength II. Children's coping were influenced by number of friend. Single mothers' stress were influenced by education financial well-being. Children's stress were influenced by their mothers' education friendship satisfaction and school achievement satisfaction.