• Human Ecology Research
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• v.60 no.4
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• pp.507-520
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• 2022

The present study identified the effects of parents' work-family conflict on their and partners' co-parenting quality, as well as the mediating roles of co-parenting quality and children's executive function difficulties in linking parents' work-family conflict to their children's school adjustment. This study used data from 387 dual-earner parents and their first-grade elementary school children, who participated in the Panel Study on Korean Children. An actor-partner interdependence and mediation model analysis using structural equation modeling revealed the following findings: first, the actor and partner effects of parents' work-family conflict on co-parenting quality were significant for both fathers and mothers. Second, the effect of the fathers' work-family conflict on their co-parenting quality was found to be greater than that of the mothers' work-family conflict on the fathers' co-parenting quality. Third, fathers' and mothers' work-family conflict, respectively, exerted an indirect effect on their children's school adjustment through the serial mediation by the mothers' co-parenting quality and children's executive function difficulties, whereas the direct effects of fathers' and mothers' work-family conflict on children's school adjustment were not supported. Finally, this study suggests that co-parenting quality and children's executive function should be considered to facilitate children's school adjustment in the parent education of dual-earner families with first-grade elementary school children, and that continuous policy efforts for dual-earner parents' work-family balance are needed.

• Korean Journal of Child Studies
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• v.36 no.3
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• pp.35-57
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• 2015

The present study employed a pretest-posttest quasi-experimental design model in order to evaluate the effectiveness of the Respected Parents & Respected Children (RPRC) parent education program for mothers of early school-age children. Ninety mothers were randomly assigned to an intervention (n=45) group or a control group (n=45). Mothers in the intervention group participated in 8 weekly sessions of the parent education program. After the termination of the program, the differences between pretest and posttest were analyzed in terms of both maternal parenting characteristics (i.e., parenting behavior, parenting efficacy, parenting stress, and co-parenting) and children's social competence. The results indicated that only in the intervention group, self-reported positive parenting characteristics were significantly improved and negative parenting characteristics were significantly decreased. There were no significant effects of the program on children's social competence as rated by the mothers. These findings suggest that the RPRC parent education program is effective in changing parenting characteristics known as crucial predictors of child outcomes.

• Korean Journal of Child Studies
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• v.37 no.3
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• pp.147-166
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• 2016

Objective: The purpose of this study was to gain an understanding of parenthood of mothers of early school-age children, with emphasis on cognitive, behavioral, and emotional aspects of parenthood. Methods: Nineteen mothers whose children were 1st and 2nd grade elementary school children participated in this study. Data were collected through individual in-depth interviews. During the interview, mothers were asked to speak freely about their experiences as parents of early-school age children, including parenting beliefs, parenting behaviors, and emotional experiences related to parenting. These interviews were transcribed verbatim and analyzed in a thematic way using MAXQDA. Results: Using qualitative methods, five major themes were emerged: (1) Recognizing the role of parents as a supporter of growth; (2) recognizing parenthood of the present generation that imposes expanded roles to mothers; (3) co-parenting of early school-age children and marital relationship; (4) co-existence of different parenting styles based on specific mother-child interaction situations; (5) experiencing a wide spectrum of emotions including anxiety, guilt, and depression, as well as happiness. Conclusion: This study revealed the unique cognitive, behavioral, and emotional aspects of parenthood experienced by mothers with early school-age children. Results of this study can fill a gap in our understanding of parenthood of mothers when their children entered into the new developmental stage of middle childhood. The results could also be used as a basis for developing parent education and family relationship programs.

• 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.

• Korean Journal of Child Studies
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• v.36 no.2
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• pp.111-130
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• 2015

The purpose of this study was to conduct a qualitative analysis of mothers' role experiences during their children's transition from early childhood to middle childhood. Eleven mothers of first-grade elementary school students participated in a group meeting, group interviews and journal writing. The results indicated that mothers described their experiences as a critical first step outwards on the journey to independence. The role experiences of the mothers who participated in this study can be seen from three perspectives: Firstly, as mothers as individuals projecting a mother's worries onto their child and becoming a capable person to help their children adjust to a new school environment, secondly, as mothers as family members experiencing a more authoritarian parenting style and difficulties of co-parenting with their husbands and parents-in-law, and lastly, as mothers as members of the extended family systems experiencing communication difficulties regarding the public education system and feeling uncomfortable with other parents. The findings may be used to develop support programs as well as a channel for interacting with public education bodies and community agencies.

• Journal of Digital Convergence
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.201-209
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• 2020

In this paper, we perform a case study of children's emotional care program that analyzes the emotional status through the drawings of children based on web system. In order to overcome spatial and temporal environment constraints, we have developed based on web system that performs to support the whole process from the request of analysis of children 's drawings to the feedback of the final result step by step. The online platform is designed to conduct observations for the purpose of primary screening using a smartphone, and then proceed to the offline secondary care linkage process based on the results. Then according to the results of the analysis, children and parents who need deep examination are figured out and professional institutions are linked to them for help. Parental stress had been analyzed to improve the accuracy of the test and to figure out the cause of the problem. The study was conducted on 2,532 children and their parents between the ages of 3 and 5 years attending a day care center. As a result, 564 children and 223 parents were figured out to be in need of secondary institutional care, and 311 parents were educated and counseled from the professional institutions.

• Journal of Family Relations
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.77-98
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• 2016

Objectives: The aim of this study was to explore perceived meanings of dating and marriage among well-educated Korean couples who were in optimal marriageable ages. Particularly, an emphasis was placed on finding out where the traditional gender norms and post-modern contexts intersect on the couples' course of dating and marriage. Method: We undertook a qualitative analysis of 8 couples (age: 26-34) dating. Participants were limited to university graduates of upper-middle rank universities in Seoul, South Korea. The rationale for choosing such sample was based on the idea that characteristics of class is inherent in the act of dating and marriage, and that such characteristics lead to different contextual experiences in dating and marriage. This study was based on interviews conducted over a three-month time span. The interviews were first transcribed into research text and then subjects and key categories were drawn from the transcripts for analysis. Results: Participants sought meanings of joy, learning, and self-improvement in dating, and they were free from traditional gender norms in their romantic relationships. They viewed marriage as having a permanent companionship with their partner, becoming independent from their parents, and/or a social norm to be followed. Participants reported mixed perceptions about marriage in such fashion that they described their parents' relationship in terms of a gendered leader-supporter relationship, while viewing their own relationship as being genderless partners. In transition to parenthood, however, they regressed to traditional gender norms dichotomized as women being a homemaker and men being a breadwinner. In sum, participants displayed expectations that were inconsistent with regard to dating and marriage over the study period. That is, during the course of dating and early marriage, they did not hold separated gender norms; however, when transitioning from being a newly married couple to giving their first childbirth, expectations shifted to traditional gender norms and values. Conclusion: This suggests that it is not marriage, but the experience of childbirth and motherhood, which strengthen traditional gendered norms, engendering regeneration of the gender norms in families. The results indicate that there is a need to promote co-parenting behavior among the newly-married couples and to educate gender equality about parent roles or for parents in South Korea so that they can overcome traditional gendered norms in family.

• Journal of Family Resource Management and Policy Review
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.11-25
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• 2024

The purpose of this study is to compare the child care time, as well as the perceptions of and satisfaction with the time use, of fathers and mothers in dual-income families with preschool children. 444 time use data were gathered from the Statistics Korea Life Time Surveys in 2019. The results of this study are as follows. First, the total child care time of the two parents per family on a working day was 72.1 min on average, and more time was spent on primary care than on developmental care. Second, the father's child care time on a working day was 40.8 min on average, and the mother's time, almost three times more-110.3 min, which show a significant difference. By type of care, the mother's care time was about three times more than that of father for primary care, and about two times more for developmental care. Third, the mother's primary care time differed by household income level, and the primary care time of both fathers and mothers differed according to the number of their working hours weekly. Fourth, both fathers and mothers felt somewhat tired and had a time deficit, but mothers were less satisfied than fathers with the division of household tasks between them. To encourage fathers' voluntary participation in child care, they must be informed of their joint responsibility with their spouse as parents must be emphasized under the term "co-parenting." It is necessary to expand systems that support parental care and promote a family-friendly culture in workplaces to guarantee the rights of parents.

• 한국노년학
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.905-923
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• 2011

The purpose of this study is to examine factors affecting the conflict between grandparents raising grandchildren and adult children. The data were based on the panel survey to explore korean retirement and income study conducted by National Pension Service in 2009. For this study, 287 parenting grandparents rearing grandchild are selected from the survey. Included variables are a demographic factor, a economic factor, a caregiving-related factor, a health factor, and a family relationship factor. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, t-test, co-relation and logistic regression, with SPSS WIN 18.0 program. The results are as follows: First, when grandparents are male, older, highly educated, having no religion, and unemployed, a conflict with their adult children grows. Second, when grandparents do not have earned income or financial income, but have private income transfers, a conflict with their adult children is high. Third, when grandchildren are younger, there are no caregiving rewards, economic activities suspension or reduction because of caregiving, a conflict with their adult children is strong. Also, when grandparents' physical health is good, but their mental health is poor, a conflict with their adult children increases. Fourth, when grandparents' satisfactions with family relationship and spouse relationship are low, but their satisfaction with adult children relationship is high, a conflict with their adult children rises. This study suggests that unlike in the past, grandparents raising grandchildren can no longer make sacrifice themselves for their adult children, but they expect proper exchange between parents and children. Therefore, there needs to be understanding of grandparents raising grandchildren and further studies of a conflict between grandparents raising grandchildren their adult children.