• 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 Culture and Social Issue
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.235-260
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• 2012

This study was aimed at looking into and understanding child-rearing experience of mothers from multicultural families based on the grounded theory, one of the qualitative research methods. For this, twelve mothers from multicultural families were selected and data were collected through in-depth interviews with them and then analyzed through the open coding, axial coding and selective coding. The analysis suggested that main phenomena mothers from multicultural families experienced are the conflict of child-rearing and educational crisis, and the confused identity of parenting. These main phenomena had much to do with contextual factors such as economic hardship, lower level of the Korean language, cultural differences, prejudices and ignorance. The severeness of conflict and crisis of child-rearing and the intensity of identity confusion for parenting depended on arbitral conditions such as family bonds, positive expectation for the future of their children, and the help of supportive systems. Mothers were dealing with difficulties of child-rearing through action and interaction of resignation and denial, introspection and the intention to overcome difficulties, and the capacity building. As a result, mothers from multicultural families acknowledged that there is a limit to their position and roles they can play and tried to change in order to resolve problems related to their children, positioning themselves for more active lives in Korean society. Through discussion based on the findings of the study, this study can help better understand child-rearing experience of mothers from multicultural families and suggest several directions for future researches on multicultural families.

• Journal of the Korean Society of School Health
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• v.33 no.1
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• pp.28-38
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• 2020

Purpose: This study aimed to identify the prevalence of alcohol and cigarette use and assess its relationship with socio-environmental, psychological, violent and behavioral factors among a sample of high school students from Lima and Callao, Peru. Methods: We utilized the data from a cross-sectional study conducted by the Yonsei Global Health Center in collaboration with the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) Peru office in November 2016. The total sample size of this study was 1,477 students. For analysis, we used bivariate and multivariate logistic regression to calculate the unadjusted and adjusted odds ratios and their respective 95% confidence intervals. Results: The current prevalence of alcohol and cigarette use among adolescents was found to be 24.2% and 12.1%, respectively. Alcohol use was affected by age, friends' alcohol use, experience of physical fighting, and involvement in other risk behaviors (smoking, drug use, and sexual intercourse). Cigarette use was affected by perceived academic performance, friends' cigarette use, and involvement in other risk behaviors (drinking, drug use, and sexual intercourse). Furthermore, students who received affection from their parents and whose parents monitored their activities were less likely to report using both alcohol and cigarettes. Conclusion: Alcohol and cigarette use among Lima and Callao adolescents is affected by socio-environmental, violent and behavioral factors. Alcohol and cigarette use prevention initiatives should promote positive parenting practices, family togetherness, and a supportive school climate. In addition, it is needed to establish peer-led programs that promote behavioral changes in students and strengthen social relations without the presence of alcohol, cigarettes, and other harmful substances.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.18 no.5
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• pp.502-513
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• 2018

The purpose of the study was to examine the support of crisis pregnancy policies among unmarried college student in Seoul and Gyeonggi-do. All support rates of the crisis pregnancy and delivery policies were high, including support for crisis pregnancy and delivery, the preventive education through professional sex education and the law revision to compensate the existing legislation and system. There was supportive attitude for all adolescent single parenting policies. Especially, parent education and financial independence and education for preventing adolescent single parents from recurrent pregnancy showed a little higher support rate than others. Having a religion showed a higher support rate than atheist. Based on these findings, we will discuss the necessity of the policies of a crisis pregnancy and childbirth and the policies of unmarried adolescent parents. The results of this study could be used as a basic data for revision of relevant policies and establishment of support services.

• Research in Community and Public Health Nursing
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.256-268
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• 2020

Purpose: This study aimed to explore ecological factors and strategies for childhood obesity prevention targeting vulnerable children using a community-based participatory research (CBPR) methodology. Methods: The CBPR was conducted by following basic process steps. Participants were 12 community stakeholders such as community child center directors (n=4), vulnerable children's mothers (n=3), community health center officials (n=2), and lay health advisors (n=4); they were purposively sampled from K municipal county in Seoul, South Korea. The qualitative content analysis was performed to explore main themes of the ecological factors and strategies by using data obtained from 5 times of focus group interview. Results: Twelve ecological factors associated with childhood obesity prevention were identified: Intrapersonal factors including emotional overeating; interpersonal factors including permissive parenting style of children's eating behaviors; organizational factors including social workers' less educational opportunities; and community/policy factors including less government financial support. Four ecological strategies for childhood obesity prevention were addressed: Developing obesity prevention programs targeting vulnerable children' lifestyles; promoting parents' active participation in education; building healthy meal service environments through empowering social workers; and building supportive community environment and securing community resources for child obesity prevention. Conclusion: Our findings may be informative in terms of providing a comprehensive understanding of multi-level ecological barriers against vulnerable children' obesity prevention and, moreover, guiding multi-level strategies for preventing childhood obesity targeting children enrolled in community child centers.

• Korean Journal of Social Welfare
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• v.37
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• pp.195-216
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• 1999

Adolescents whose families receive public assistance are primary interest in the article because they experience disproportionate shares of the burden of poverty and psychosocial stress and are at substantially high risk. To explain the psychosocial stresses of high-risk adolescents in poverty, this study analyzed the inter-relations and interactions of major variables: 1) stress related life condition, 2)individual & environmental resources, 3) emotional, behavioral, and academic adjustment. Data came from the survey of 351 students living in the families receiving public assistance. The major findings were as follows. High-risk adolescents in poverty suffered from chronic stresses related life conditions, including family environmental stress, financial & medical stress and stigmatic stress. As the effects of stress increased, depression/anxiety and delinquency of poor youth increased. The psychosocial adjustment of poor youth at risk was most effected by the stress resulted from family environment. Though they were suffered from stresses related poor environment, adolescents in poverty adjusted well, if they had individual and environmental resources including self-esteem democratic parenting and supportive school climate. In conclusion, this study confirmed that emotional, behavioral, and academic adjustment of adolescents in poverty was affected by various stresses from life conditions and individual and environmental resources. In order to improve adjustment of poor youth at risk, life conditions have to be improved and psychosocial resources to be increased. These findings have provided practical implications for social workers helping high-risk adolescents in poverty.

• Korean Journal of Childcare and Education
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.73-91
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• 2014

The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of the happiness of parent users of employer-supported childcare centers on their parental stress and employer-Supported childcare centers satisfaction level. It's basically meant to provide some information on how to ensure work-family reconciliation and improve the performance of employer-supported childcare centers. The subjects in this study were 206 parents who were users of employer-supported childcare centers. The findings of the study were as follows: First, the happiness and childcare centers satisfaction of the parent users of the employer-supported childcare centers were both at a higher level, and their parental stress was slightly above average. Second, there was a negative correlation between the happiness and parental stress of the parents who used the employer-supported childcare centers, and happiness was positively correlated to childcare centers satisfaction level. Third, as for the impact of the happiness of the parent users of the employer-supported childcare centers, parental stress was under the largest influence of happiness, followed by family harmony. happiness had the greatest impact on childcare centers satisfaction level, followed by interpersonal relationships. This outcome suggests that the supportive direction for parenting needs to focus on the affective dimension of promoting parents' happiness as well as focusing on the material and structural dimension.