• Journal of Distribution Science
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• v.12 no.8
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• pp.91-102
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• 2014

Purpose - Today, the importance of the service industry has increased. Social welfare businesses that follow the non-profit principle have neglected the distribution of the service. However, an intangible service, when produced and consumed, has a similar service delivery system to common service distribution and social welfare. Therefore, the author has assumed the efficiency of the service delivery system of social welfare to be equivalent to the service distribution industry. Hence, various kinds of social welfare services for the prevention of elderly suicide, from the perspective of distribution, are discussed. Studies on generational relations have thus far investigated depression from parent-children conflict, and satisfaction with their lives. Studies on the relationship between family solidarity and elderly suicide by analyzing existing social problems are rare. This study investigated the effects of family solidarity between old parents and adult children upon elderly suicide by analyzing serious psychological and social problems. This study revealed basic measures for elderly suicide prevention through services that could elevate family solidarity from the perspective of social welfare service distribution. Research design, data, and methodology - The subjects were 468 elderly, 65 years or older, at 18 senior welfare centers and halls for the elderly at Seoul and Gyeonggi-do. Questionnaire surveys, excluding invalid answers, were analyzed. Convenience sampling was used from February 5, 2014 to March 5, 2014. The findings were: First, women and those having spouses with advanced educational backgrounds and social activities had primary solidarity such as contact solidarity, affectionate solidarity, functional solidarity (giving help), and functional solidarity (receiving help). In addition, those who had good health, from a subjective point of view, had more solidarity. Second, the elderly who were men and single, and who had poorer educational backgrounds thought of suicide, lacked social activities, and had poor health, from a subjective point of view. Third, family solidarity between old parents and adult children had significantly negative influence on the suicidal ideation of the elderly. Results - The study revealed the following implications. First, the preparation for old age should consider not only economic welfare but also the psychological welfare due to the relationship with children. Second, the phenomenon of elderly suicide because of a lack of family solidarity could increase national loss and have great influence upon welfare in old age. Therefore, planning of welfare services for the elderly should consider the value of relationships with children to improve the psychological welfare of the elderly. Third, the social expenses of government-oriented support for parents should be discussed from the people's point of view. Conclusions - The subjects of the study comprised the elderly at Seoul and Gyenggi-do; therefore, it would be difficult to extrapolate the findings to all the elderly in the nation. The subject visited senior welfare centers as well as halls for the elderly; therefore, it would be difficult to assume that the trends were representative of the elderly in the nation.

• Journal of Family Resource Management and Policy Review
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.111-138
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• 2015

The purpose of this study was to understand the lived experiences of grandmothers and family in transition. Grandmothers in transition means grandmothers who had married children at least one even if there are no grandchildren yet. The data for this study came from 20 grandmothers in transition of 5 focus group(each 4 persons) interview. 9 of them was pre-grandmother without grandchildren yet, 11 was grandmother who had grandchildren. The result of this study revealed that the meaning of grandmotherhood. Dynamics of family in transition around supporting child care represent change of family relations. It didn't means 'empty-nest' model of foreign theory. The Absolute quantity of intergeneral exchange and conflict extended as three generational families.

• Korean Journal of Social Welfare
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• v.57 no.3
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• pp.337-361
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• 2005

This study seeks the implications for the Korean family welfare policies after examining the characteristics of fertility rates and family welfare policies of advanced OECD countries, and comparatively analyzing the fertility rates among clusters of countries having similar family welfare policies. The fertility rates of most advanced OECD countries declined below the population replacement level in the 1970s, and continuously declined slowly after that period. But in the 1990s the fertility rate of some countries increased, on the other hand that of other countries declined. Such a difference of fertility rates suggests that there is some correlation between the fertility rate and the family welfare policy of each country. Advanced countries became concerned about the decline of fertility rate, established the government Population Issues Committee in order to deal with population problems, and increased family welfare supports. But the level and pattern(focusing on maternal employment supports or child-rearing supports) of each country's family welfare policies are differently developed according to its political ideology, cultural and historical background, and economic environments. A comparative assessment of the fertility rate among clusters of countries having similar family welfare policies demonstrates that the higher the level of family welfare supports is and the level of maternal employment supports in comparison with that of maternal child-rearing supports is, the higher of fertility rate is. And a comparative assessment of the fertility rate changes among clusters of countries also shows that the higher the level of family welfare supports is and the level of maternal employment supports in comparison with that of maternal child-rearing supports is, the higher the increase of fertility rate is or the lower the decrease of fertility rate is. The implications for the Korean family welfare policies are summarized as follows. First, it is necessary to establish the government Population Issues Committee which can study systematically fertility rates and population problems, and provide comprehensive population measures. Second, family welfare supports should be expanded through the establishment of family allowances, the prolongation of maternity leave and child-care leave and the upward readjustment of child-care leave benefits, and the extension of public child-care facilities. Third, maternal employment supports such as public child-care facilities and maternity leave should be given more weight than maternal child-rearing supports such as family allowance. Fourth, it is required to prepare social environments which can provide the youth with the hope that child-rearing is not difficult and gives them happiness.

• Journal of Family Resource Management and Policy Review
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.157-180
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• 2009

The purposes of this study were (a) to examine perceptions of the Legal Delay Before Divorce Program (LDBDP) in Korea among individuals, (b)to predict the need for the LDBDP, and (c) to predict the needs for psychological counseling with predicting variables. Two hundred questionnaires were completed by the clients of a legal aid center in Seoul. The majority of participants knew about and expressed their need for the LDBDP. Participants agreed to the LDBDP because it could prevent impulsive divorce, provide time to prepare for post-divorce life, provide support with counseling, and protect the children in families of divorce. Participants disagreed to the LDBDP because it only delayed the time to divorce, prolonged emotional suffering, and intruded on personal privacy. In the model test, the need for the LDBDP was significantly predicted by marital instability scale, age, education, occupation, the period of living apart, and the status of voluntary divorce. The need for psychological counseling was significantly predicted by age, having at least one child, having at least one minor child, marital period, and need for family life counseling in the suggested model.

• Journal of the Korean Home Economics Association
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• v.45 no.5
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• pp.121-133
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• 2007

The purpose of this study was to investigate the psychological wellbeing as applied to the bioecological family life welfare model, concerning individual attributes, family backgrounds, and family processes across the family life cycles. Based on Bronfenbrenner's bioecological perspective, the "bioecological family welfare model", which includes person (individual attributes), context (family background), process (mechanism - family process), and time (the family life cycles), was applied as a research paradigm for this study. The sample for the questionnaire study comprised for 900 families, considering the family life cycle in Busan and the Kyungnam area. The families were categorized into 6 family life cycles based on Duvall and Hill's family life cycle. For the final analysis, 628 families were used. According to the path analysis results, the length of commitment before marriage and self-esteem had significant effects on the stress coping ability. Several individual attributes and family backgrounds such as age, length of marriage, family life cycle, self-esteem and stress coping ability had significant effects on marital adjustment. The family life cycle and age were significant variables on family function. The significant variables on psychological wellbeing were monthly income, length of commitment before marriage, stress coping ability and marital adjustment. The regression model showed that the variables of the individual attributes, context and family process accounted for 51% of the psychological wellbeing. The results show that the suggested research model was significant and effective to explain the mechanism of psychological wellbeing. Individual attributes and family context have an impact on stress coping, marital adjustment, and family function, which in turn affect psychological wellbeing.

• Journal of Family Resource Management and Policy Review
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.139-161
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• 2015

The number of Healthy Family Support Centers has increased and the services for enhancement of family strength have extended during the past ten years since the Framework Act on Healthy Families was enacted. It is time to pay attention to the empowerment for Healthy Family Specialist because their capability is directly linked to improve the quality of services, which means the satisfaction of family services and the quality of family policy. In this context, this study investigate organizational experience of Healthy Family Specialists and suggest the empowerment plan to enhance their capability. We conducted in-depth interviews for 9 Healthy Family Specialists who is currently working at Healthy Family Support Centers as a manager status during June 2014. We analyzed organizational experiences through job commitment and job satisfaction and empowerment plans through their strength and weakness. Our findings revealed that job commitment and job satisfaction of Healthy Family Specialist are relatively low due to a poor working condition and a low brand awareness. Also, the capability of Healthy Family Specialists is an important factor to determine their job commitment and job satisfaction, and it can impact on the long service. These results suggest that the payroll system, increment of salary, career recognition, employee benefit, systematic operation, and motivation are needed to improve their job satisfaction. There are various ways to improve professional capability of Healthy Family Specialists besides education program. This study contributes to make the plan of empowerment for Healthy Family Specialists and it also contributes to improve the service quality of family policy.

• Journal of Family Resource Management and Policy Review
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• v.10 no.4
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• pp.145-161
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• 2006

This research paper represents family volunteer management system for the purpose of activating family volunteer activities. This family volunteer management system is based on the family volunteer activity cases by healthy family support center in Cheon-An City. The following data is the evaluation of effectiveness in the family volunteer management system. 9 families (32 people) among family volunteers who are participated in activities worked for twelve to eighteen hours per a month; one to six times per a month; at the more than two different social welfare facilities. They volunteered in the areas of cultural experience programs for the immigrant's families, baby cares, help for the handicaps and hospice. Family volunteers showed high satisfaction levels; average 4.37 out of 5; in the Family volunteer's management system. They checked in the area of volunteer's training, activity period, activity places, teamwork, healthy family support center, and supervisor of volunteer center.

• Journal of Families and Better Life
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• v.22 no.5
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• pp.331-344
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• 2004

Korean society recently realized the needs for a system that may effectively prevent and/or resolve different family problems caused by the rapidly changing modem society. In order to carry out this objectives. The Healthy Family Act has been legislated and is to be enforced from the 1st of January, 2005. Legislating the law is a means to establish an administrative and institutional structure that may bring in the total welfare system centered around family, so as to promote healthy families in our society. This is also a land marking event that has shifted the paradigm from the welfare system focusing on individual protection to the total welfare system based upon family units. Hence, this study is to examine the specific concepts of 'healthy family,' which is the goal of The Healthy Family Act, and thus to propose the objectives of the law by analysing the institutional system of it. The Healthy Family Act, which consists of major 37 items of 5 chapters with supplementary provisions, aims at the five ideals as follows. The first is to promote the healthy family which is the basis of individual welfare and well-to-do society. The second is to emphasize the importance of family and to provide total service system for family unit. The third is to establish the family value which supports gender-equality and democracy. The fourth is to reinforce the governmental support for independence and cooperation of family. And the fifth is to promote the in-advance and precautionary support for family problems. The law also includes administrative methods for Strong Families Center, different projects and programs for promoting healthy families, roles of Healthy Family Specialist and means to cultivating them, and the policies to specifically carry out the ideas of the law. It is now important to recognize that the development of nation is based on the healthy families and to put much effort in carrying out the ideas and goals of The Healthy Family Act.

• Korean Journal of Child Studies
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.163-180
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• 1996

Employing an ethnographic approach, this case study analyzed the psychological welfare of 2 teenage and one early-twenties heads of family. The subjects were Sun-Ju (female, age 22, seamstress), Ji-Hyun (female, age 14, junior high school student), and Seung-Hwan (male, age 16, junior high school student). This study was processed between 9 March 1996 and 11 May 1996. The results show that teenage and early-twenties heads of family have ambivalent feelings, meaning two extreme psychological conditions that are not consistent. Three types of teenage-early twenties heads of family ambivalence were caused by diverse role dimensions (e.g., nursing, supporter, beneficiary, and independent subject roles). Revision of the present welfare system, particularly the protection system For teenage-early twenties heads of family was recommended. Further research is also needed to determine various factors harmful to their psychological welfare.

• Korean Journal of Social Welfare
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• v.47
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• pp.243-271
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• 2001

This study examines family relationship among North Korean migrant families in early adaptation (approximately, up to $5{\sim}6$ years after arrival in the South). Family cohesion, communication, power relationship, and conflicts and domestic violence among family members were examined by the perceptions of 67 male and female householders and their spouses. In the four areas of family relationship, the subjects have quite positive perceptions and shows no critically significant difference on the perceptions between before and after arrival. However, positive perception on family relationship gradually decreases as the length of time of in the South increases with linear or nonlinear patterns according to subcategories of family relationship. These findings suggest several social work practice implications in resettlement assistance for the North Korean migrant families.