A Study on the Stress and Coping with Farm Work of Rural Women

여성농업인의 농작업 스트레스와 대처방법에 관한 연구

The objectives of this study were to understand the working stress of rural women and their coping strategies, and to provide basic data related with rural welfare policy. The data were obtained through 318 samples of rural women under sixty years old who work full-time at their farms with their husbands. The questionnaire employed Likert-type scale with four-point, and then the data were analyzed by statistical methods of frequency, percentage, mean score, analysis of variance, t-test and Duncan test through SAS program. The significance level was p ＜ .05. The results of this study are as follows ; 1) The average stress level of rural women was over 2.9 points out of 4. 2) The stress level showed meaningful correlation with such variables as age, education, perception on economic status, and recognition by their husbands and other family members. The rural women who are over forty years old, below high school, disregarded from their family members were marked high stress level. 3) The level of rural women's stress coping strategies was quite as low as 1.95 out of 4. 4) The level of coping strategies showed meaningful correlation with such socio-demographic variables as age, perception on economic status and job satisfaction level. Those who aged over 40, perceives low economic staus, lives together with husbands'parents, and shows “average” job satisfaction scored significantly lower coping strategy levels. 5) The level of stress didn't indicate significant relation with the type of coping strategy.