The Alliance Model of the Family and Its Empirical Test - Women's Economic Status and Satisfaction with Family Relationships -

가족동맹 모델과 그 검증 - 여성의 경제적 지위와 가족관계 만족도 -

The purpose of this study is to empirically test some hypotheses derived from the alliance model of the family, which focuses on theorizing situations in which family members simultaneously compete with other members within a family and rivals in society to maximize their statuses in the family and in society. Specifically, associations between wives' level of income relative to that of their husbands and each spouse's satisfaction with family relationships were examined, using the first wave of Korea Welfare Panel Study having been conducted in 2006 by the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs. The results of the analyses showed that three ones among four research hypotheses were supported. Wives' satisfaction with family relationships was negatively associated with their relative level of income. This pattern strongly appeared among wives from lower class families rather than among wives from middle/upper class families. Relationship between wives' relative level of income and husbands' satisfaction with family relationships was likely to be bi-directional among husbands from middle/upper class families. Unlike the author's expectation, however, this bi-directional relationship was not observed among husbands from lower class families.

본 연구는 가족 구성원들이 가족과 사회에서 지위 극대화를 위해, 가족 내외적으로 동시적 경쟁을 하는 상황을 이론화한 가족동맹 모델을 한국복지패널조사 1차년도 자료를 이용해서 검증하였다. 이 검증을 위해, 아내의 경제적 지위와 각 배우자의 가족관계 만족도 사이의 관계가 조사되었다. 분석 결과, 대체로 조사 가설들이 지지되었다. 아내들은 남편 대비 자신의 상대 소득이 높을 때, 가족관계 만족도가 낮았고, 이는 저소득층 아내들 사이에서 더 뚜렷하게 나타났다. 한편, 남편들의 가족관계 만족도와 아내의 상대 소득 사이의 양-방향의 관계가 중산층 남편들 중에서 뚜렷하게 나타났다. 그러나 예상과 달리 이 양-방향의 관계가 저소득층 남편들 중에서는 나타나지 않았다.