• Korean Journal of Family Social Work
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• no.57
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• pp.39-67
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• 2017

The purpose of this study is to gain a deep understanding of immigrant single mothers' parenting experiences. Seven immigrant single mothers were recruited as research participants. Data were collected by in-depth interviews which were conducted once or twice for each participant and analyzed by using a Giorgi's phenomenological method to delineate about participants' individual and unique experiences. Participants' statements were divided into 201 meaning units, which were analyzed into 29 sub-elements, 13 elements, and then structuralized with 5 intrinsic themes of 'marriage with unexpected hardships', 'troubled relationship with children due to emotional trauma', 'double whammy of being an immigrant woman and a single mother', 'struggles in becoming a head of household' and 'power of mothers' love for children'. Based on the above results, this study suggested some implications for social welfare policies and social work practices.

• Child Studies in Asia-Pacific Contexts
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• v.2 no.2
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• pp.91-107
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• 2012

This study aimed to understand communicative and socialization practices of immigrant bilingual families in everyday learning situations by examining interactions between parents and children in the United States. Drawn on language socialization theory and socio-cultural factors influencing immigrants, this study explored how three Korean American mothers struggled as they helped their children with homework by interviewing the mothers and observing mother-child interaction during homework time. The study paid attention to the emotional values of immigrant parents that they tried to teach their children who are members in two distinctive communities, such as Korean American and mainstream American. The findings showed that parental socialization practices had effects on children's emotional and social competence and at the same time the socialization process was bidirectional. Mothers started with Korean values, but they faced challenges with the English language, different demands for American homework, and children's rejection of their attempts. Mothers needed to change their strategy and borrow American ways of keeping emotional distance from their children by acknowledging their independence. Their struggles are discussed with attention to their language choice and culture.

• Human Ecology Research
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• v.58 no.3
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• pp.375-390
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• 2020

This paper explored the marriage migrant mothers' experiences of parenting bi-ethnic children in South Korea based on the concepts of ethnic socialization and intersectionality. We analyzed in-depth interviews of 22 marriage migrant women from Vietnam residing in the capital region of South Korea. They had at least one child whose biological father is Korean. Children were 5 years old or older, attending preschool or elementary school. Five types of bi-ethnic socialization strategies were identified, which provide portraits of different situations in which marriage migrant women were placed. The five strategies that emerged from the data were 1) "Natural practice of bi-ethnic socialization" including two heterogeneous groups, "Coexistence of two cultures" and "Mixture of two cultures", 2) "Active practice of bi-ethnic socialization", 3) "Struggling practice of bi-ethnic socialization", 4) "Silence on bi-ethnic socialization", and 5) "Suppressed bi-ethnic socialization". The strategies of bi-ethnic socialization that marriage migrant women chose to raise their children reflected personal perceptions of Korean society and individual ethnic identity formed within Korean society. This study complements existing research on ethnic socialization by examining how ethnic socialization practices are shaped by multiple contexts marriage migrant women embedded in Korean society.

• Korean Journal of Child Studies
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.213-226
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• 1996

The aim of this study was to investigate the relationships of mothers' authoritative and authoritarian childrearing attitudes to their 5-year-old children's attachment representations and to teacher-rated social competence. The sample consisted of 69 mothers and their 5-year-old children from intact families. Children were interviewed to assess the quality of their attachment representations using Slough & Greenberg's(1990) version of the Separation Anxiety Test(SAT). Mothers were administered the Childrearing Practices Report Q-sort(Block, 1965) and filled out questionnaires regarding their childhood experiences, their marital relationship and their psychological well-being. In addition, teachers rated children's social competency in school settings using Kohn's(1972) Social Competence Scale. Hierarchical multiple regression showed that mothers' high scores on affective components of authoritative parenting and low scores on authoritarian attitudes are closely associated with children's secure attachment as well as teacher-rated social competence.

• International Journal of Human Ecology
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.131-144
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• 2006

This study examined the impact of childhood physical abuse on the self-concept of older adolescents and assessed perceptions of parental relationships as a mediator for consequences of abuse. Sixty-college undergraduates (aged 18-23 yrs.) completed this study. (1) The Self-Description Questionnaires, a multidimensional measure of self-concept, (2) the parent scales of the inventory parent and Peer Attachment, a measure of perceived parental support, and (3) the Assessing Environments, a retrospective report of family environment and parenting practices. Analyses, controlling for SES and education, showed that a history of physical abuse was a strong predictive of adolescence current self-concept. Further analyses would lend support to a mediation model, suggesting that physical abuse had a negative impact on self-concept through its negative effect on parent-child relationships.

• International Journal of Human Ecology
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.15-24
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• 2013

This study investigated the differences between adolescents' own perceptions of their psychopathology and perceptions by clinically depressed parents of their adolescents' psychopathology. The study also examined parental characteristics that accounted for discrepancies between parents and adolescents. The clinical sample consisted of 61 adolescents and their parents who were diagnosed with a major depressive disorder. The adolescents and parents evaluated the adolescents' psychopathology in separate interviews with the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) and the Youth Self-Report (YSR). Parents reported on current depressive symptoms and parenting practices using questionnaires. The results revealed that parent-adolescent discrepancies were greater in regard to affective and anxiety problems compared to oppositional defiant and conduct problems. Parental rejection was associated with differences in scores for affective problems after controlling for parents' current depressive symptoms and adolescents' age and gender. The findings highlight the importance of considering adolescents' affective and anxiety problems when treating depressed parents. Furthermore, the findings suggest that parental rejection may play a pivotal role when interpreting the discrepancy concerning adolescents' affective problems.

• Journal of the Korean Home Economics Association
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.89-101
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• 1995

Parents were considered as crucial to the promotion of giftedness, because of the family's mediating role. The relations between children's cognitive development and social adjustment were supposed in the prediction of the development of high-level abilities in gifted children, as well as parent-child interaction. Forty four gifted children and 42 ordinary children were responded to K-ABC and social competence tests. Results were found that gifted children who scored high in cognitive abilites were less likely social adjustment. The mothers of gilfted children more often stimulated and broadened their children's experiences. Responsive parenting seems to have a more profound effect on potential high achievers than of average ability.

• Child Health Nursing Research
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.154-164
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• 2019

Purpose: The study aimed to develop a play toolkit to facilitate infants' and toddlers' symbolic thought and fine motor development. Methods: This study used a methodological study design including two phases of development and evaluation. After reviewing the play culture and developmental health issues in Kyrgyzstan through a literature review and interviews with local experts and parents, the toolkit was developed and evaluated using content validity and utilization tests. Results: The toolkit was based on Westby's symbolic play and the fine motor milestones in the Bright Futures Guidelines. The Toolkits were composed of an overall suggested play schedule according to the child's age, four kinds of play props, and a utilization guidebook for parents. The play props were a felt book, sorting and assembling blocks, cup blocks, and a tangram. The guidebook contained age-appropriate operating methods and alternative ways to use the materials. Conclusion: A play toolkit was developed to enhance nurturing practices among parents of infants and toddlers. The findings may help facilitate effective interactions between parents and their children. Considering that nurturing care is critical for achieving better child health outcomes, enhancing parenting resources and parent-child relations could function as an effective strategy for promoting child health.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.717-734
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• 2023

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to identify preschool children's eating behaviors associated with early childhood obesity and its multi-level, socio-ecological determinants. SUBJECTS/METHODS: In a cross-sectional study of 364 mothers of preschool children aged 3-5 years, these children's healthy eating behaviors were assessed using a validated preschool nutrition quotient (NQ-P) questionnaire. The children's overweight or obesity statuses were determined based on body mass index percentiles from the 2017 Korean National Growth Chart. The associations between the NQ-P score and risk of overweight or obesity were examined using multivariable logistic regression. The associations of individual, maternal, physical, and media environmental factors with the NQ-P score were also examined using multivariable linear regression. RESULTS: Preschool children with greater NQ-P scores were at a significantly lower risk of overweight or obesity (P < 0.01). The NQ-P score had a significantly positive association with maternal body mass index and an inverse association with household income (all P < 0.05). Maternal parenting and feeding practices exhibited associations with the NQ-P score. Positive associations were observed with "warm," "structured," and "autonomy-supportive" parenting as well as monitoring feeding practices (all P < 0.05). In addition, the NQ-P score had a significantly positive association with the childcare center's anti-obesogenic environment, such as the provision of nutritional and physical-activity support and vicinity of the built food environment to the home, including access to good-quality food, fruits and vegetables, and low-fat foods (all P < 0.05). Regarding media environments, the NQ-P score demonstrated more significant associations with viewing and eating and/or cooking content displayed on online video platforms (all P < 0.05) than with that on television. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings confirm the significance of healthy eating behaviors in early-childhood-obesity prevention and underscore the importance of multilevel maternal, physical, and media environmental interventions that effectively guide eating behaviors in preschool children.

• Korean Journal of Childcare and Education
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• v.10 no.4
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• pp.133-158
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• 2014

The purpose of this study was to understand the experiences of the young children's mothers who participated in Respected Parents & Respected Children(RPRC) through a phenomenological approach. Data were collected from 9 mothers of preschool children using weekly journals, self-reported worksheets, observer's descriptive notes and reflective notes, and semi-structured pre-interviews and post-interviews to share their experiences regarding their participation in the program. From a phenomenological study, that is one of the qualitative analysis methods, 7 theme categories and 16 lower categories emerged. Theme categories were (1) the intrinsic motivation for participation in parent education program, (2) the beginning of change: mother, (3) the beginning of change: children, (4) the lasting conflicts, (5) the absence of positive parent's role model and intergenerational transmission of parenting, (6) the raising parenting efficacy, (7) the emotional supporting experience from parent education program and expectations of the continuous education course. Discussions and the implications for support practices and interventions were provided.