• 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.

• Human Ecology Research
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• v.60 no.1
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• pp.53-68
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• 2022

Using a person-centered approach, the current study investigated latent profiles for the emotional and behavioral problems of students in sixth-grade in elementary school and second grade of middle school. The aim was to explore latent transition patterns and verify the factors affecting the transitions. The participants were 1,937 adolescents who responded to the 3^rd year (6^th grade of elementary school; Time 1), 4^th year (1^st grade of middle school), and 5^th year (2^nd grade of middle school; Time 2) of the Korean Children Youth Panel Study. Latent profile and latent transition analyses were performed. The results were as follows: first, the latent profile of emotional and behavioral problems changed from Time 1 to Time 2. The latent groups at Time 1 were classified into low, moderate, high, and externalizing-dominant, whereas at Time 2, five groups were identified: low, moderate, high, externalizing-dominant, and withdrawal-dominant. Second, transition analyses revealed that although 22.3-57.0% of latent groups remained unchanged, there were significant changes over time between groups, as a new group ('withdrawal-dominant') emerged in Time 2. Third, different factors influenced the latent profile transition of emotional and behavioral problems depending on the transition pattern. Higher levels of self-esteem, better relationships with peers and teachers, and lower levels of parental inconsistency meant emotional and behavioral problems had not worsened at Time 2. The results suggest that early interventions are needed during the transition from childhood to early adolescence.

• Korean Journal of Social Welfare Studies
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• v.41 no.4
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• pp.225-246
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• 2010

The family environment children are exposed to growing up greatly influences their future potential and achievements. Previous findings show that changes in family structure during childhood, particularly those resulting from divorce or death, cause lasting negative consequence that affect the child physically, psychologically, economically, and socially. Unfortunately, single-parent households are becoming increasingly common in Korea, nearly doubling to more than a million cases in the last two decades. Existing domestic and international studies of this area tend to focus on the short-term effects of growing up in a single-parent household. In addition, these studies group their samples in ways that result in findings that may be too broad or are not necessarily an accurate representation of the subjects. This study attempts to address some of these shortcomings by focusing on the long-term effects of how changes in family structure early in children's lives affect achievement during their transition to adulthood. In addition, it takes into account the development cycle the child is in at the time of family restructuring, and what kind of long-term effects result from that. In this analysis, we find that there are several cases of statistically significantly differences in domain achievement depending on the developmental stage the child was in when the parental divorce or death occurred. The findings indicate that changes in family structure during the infant/toddler period influence health condition and depression, while changes in family structure during middle-childhood and adolescence do not. Meanwhile, changes in family structure during any point in the developmental stages have negative effects on educational attainment, with the severity of these negative effects depending on when the family changes occur. The negative effect on educational attainment is most prominent when a change in family structure occurs during the infant/toddler period, followed by adolescence, then middle-childhood.