• 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.46 no.8
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• pp.1-15
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• 2008

This study explored adjustment of school-aged children from low-income divorced families. Specifically, protective factors for children's self-perceived competence and behavior problems were investigated with children's coping strategies, perceived social support, parents' childrearing style, and parental stress. Subjects of this study were 126 children of 4 to 6 grade and their custodial parents(38 fathers, 88 mothers) from divorced families. Children's self-perceived competence and behavior problems were not different neither by children's sex nor custodial parent's sex. When children used more positive and less negative coping strategies, and when parents experienced less childrearing stress, children perceived themselves to be more competent. Similarly, when children used more positive and less negative coping strategies, received more social support, they perceived themselves to be more adequate. Children whose parents had high levels of childrearing stress showed more internalized and externalized behavior problems. Furthermore, children who perceived less supports from peers showed more behavior problems.

• Human Ecology Research
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• v.61 no.4
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• pp.565-583
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• 2023

This study sought to examine the effects of current single-parent family policies on the psychological adaptation of family members in single-parent homes, while also confirming that visitation and child support are indeed in the best interests of children in such cases. An online survey was conducted in 2021 for divorced single mothers and their children (aged 11 to 19) living in metropolitan regions (Seoul, Kyunggi, and Incheon). A total of 171 dyads, comprised of single mothers and their adolescent children, participated in this study. Using the collected data, descriptive statistical analysis and structural equation modeling were performed. The major results of this study are as follows. First, visitation with fathers was not significantly associated with self-esteem, aggression, or life satisfaction among the participating adolescent children. On the other hand, when child support was paid, aggression among adolescents was lower than when child support was not paid. Second, neither visitation nor child support was significantly associated with single mothers' levels of depression and life satisfaction. The enforcement of child support guarantees the welfare of children and conforms to the principle of promoting the best interests of minor children. Therefore, child support should be continuously encouraged and supported by agencies in accordance with current law. In order for the implementation of visitation to be in the best interest of the child, the amount and quality of visitation should be secured so that the child can still recognize their non-custodial parents as "caregivers."