• Human Ecology Research
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• v.55 no.3
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• pp.233-247
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• 2017

This study compares how mother-daughter differentiation influences solidarity and relationship satisfaction between mothers-in-law and sons-in-law. The subjects of this study were 167 mothers-in-law (mean age, 59.6 years) paired with their sons-in-law (mean age, 36.9 years). Participants were given quantitative survey questionnaires on their relationships. Descriptive statistical analyses were conducted for the social and demographic characteristics of mothers-in-law and sons-in-law. Ordinary least square multiple regression analyses were also conducted to examine the level of mother-daughter differentiation, solidarity, and relationship satisfaction between mothers-in-law and sons-in-law. The results show that a higher age of the mothers-in-law results in lower relationship satisfaction between mothers-in-law and sons-in-law. Next, an increase the level of mother-daughter differentiation (which means more balance between intimacy and detachability) results in a higher overall solidarity, affectual solidarity, giving functional solidarity, and consensual solidarity between mothers-in-law and sons-in-law. However, there was no statistically significant difference in the receiving functional solidarity and normative solidarity between mothers-in-law and sons-in-law. Finally, the results show that a higher level of mother-daughter differentiation produces a higher relationship satisfaction between mothers-in-law and sons-in-law. The findings could provide a better understanding of inter-generational relationships in Korean family dynamics. The results also have implications for providing counseling for the development of healthy relationships between mothers-in-law and sons-in-law.

• Korean Journal of Human Ecology
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• v.20 no.6
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• pp.1093-1107
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• 2011

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of stress types and coping styles on the relationship quality with mothers-in-law perceived by sons-in-law. The data was collected from 300 sons-in-law aged 20~49 by using a survey questionnaire. The main results of this study were as follows: first, factor analysis yielded 4 types of coping(cognitive understanding coping, avoidant coping, direct behavior coping, and indirect behavior coping) and 7 types of stress(despising poor ability and condition, interference in daily life, son-in-law discrimination, wife discrimination, uncomfortable interaction, differences in lifestyle, and excessive demand). Second, the total stress perceived by sons-in-law in the relationship with their mothers-in-law was affected by avoidant coping and cognitive understanding coping. Finally, the relationship quality between mothers-in-law and sons-in-law was influenced by avoidant coping, uncomfortable interaction stress, direct behavior coping, differences in lifestyle stress, son-in-law discrimination stress, interference in daily life stress, frequency of meeting, cognitive understanding coping, indirect behavior coping, and age. Consequently, it was confirmed that sons-in-law's coping styles with stress from their mothers-in-law was more influential than the amount of stress perceived by sons-in-law on the relationship quality with their mothers-in-law. Especially, 'avoidant coping' among 4 styles of coping and 'uncomfortable interaction stress' among 7 types of stress influenced the relationship quality between mothers-in-law and sons-in-law the most.

• Journal of Families and Better Life
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.125-136
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• 1997

The present study compares motives for caregiving, actual caregiving provision, care expectation from children in old age, and the connections between caregiving and inheritance distribution patterns as perceived by caregiving daughters/daughters-in-law and their care-receiving mothers/mothers-in-law between Korea and the United States. The results indicated that there was no difference in caregiving motives between Korean and American children while American mothers/mothers-in-law perceived significantly lower obligatory caregiving motives than their Korean counterparts. Also, both Korean children and their mothers/mothers-in-law reported higher level of care provision than their counterparts. The level of caregiving expectation from their children in old age among Korean elders was significantly different from those of American elders while no differences were found between Korean and American children. Finally, both Korean children and their mothers/mothers-in-law were more likely to endorse distributing larger shares of inheritance to the child who cared for his/her mothers/mothers-in-law than American counterparts. On the other hand, American subjects were more likely to accept the notion of equal distribution of inheritance. Overall, this cross-cultural study showed the cultural differences in caregiving and inheritance patterns between Korean and American subjects exhibiting salient difference among the older generation.

• Journal of Home Health Care Nursing
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.133-141
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• 2017

Purpose: This descriptive study aims to analyze the effects of the satisfaction level in the relationship between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, conflicts between them, acculturative stress and stress coping strategies on elderly depression in multi-cultural families. Methods: The survey was conducted on 89 mothers-in-law, aged 65 or older, in multi-cultural families with a foreign daughter-in-law. Data were collected through structured questionnaires, and then were used to conduct t-test, ANOVA, correlation and multiple regression analyses using the statistical program SPSS 21.0. Results: This study found several factors contributing to depression of mothers-in-law in multi-cultural families. Those factors include living alone without a spouse, poor health, a high level of perceived discrimination and a passive reaction in terms of stress coping strategies. Conclusion: A sense of discrimination perceived by the mothers-in-law having a foreign daughter-in-law implies that the people around them and the community should make efforts to reject distorted perspectives and remove prejudice against foreign daughters-in-law. In addition, the mothers-in-law should receive education and training to use more active and positive stress coping strategies in a stressful situation with the foreign daughter-in-law.

• Journal of Families and Better Life
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.13-26
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• 1996

Based on the conceptual framework of Double ABCX model of family stress and adaptation this study developed the enrichment program for the relationship of young daughters-in-law with their mothers-in-law. Results of empirical research concerning the relationship between them also provided for the basis of designing this program. Consisting of 6 sessions this education program was delivered to 20 young daughters-in-law in a rural area of Kyunggi-do province. The effectiveness of the program was evaluated through one-group posttest design and follow-up interview. Overall most participants in the program reported that the relationship with their mothers-in-law was enhanced in terms of understanding mothers-in-laws psychology and roles of improving communication and problem-solving skills self-control and of blaming.

• Journal of the Korean Home Economics Association
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.285-305
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• 1992

The purpose of this study was to describe the current status of dual-earner families in Seoul. The specific aims of this study were to examine the dynamics of marital relationship, parent-child relationship and old mother-daughter/daughter in law relationship in the same family. The sample consised of 265 dual-earner families was selected based on wives' jobs, primarily non-professional. The information was gathered from working couples and their school-aged children. The findings of this study were as follows: 1. Sex role attitude of husbands was more traditional than their wives. Therefore, housework sharing of husbands was very low and wives' perception of inequity was high. Wives' marital satisfaction was affected by the wives' perception of inequity, joint leisure activity, sexual satisfaction, and wives' job satisfaction. Husbands' marital satisfaction was affected by sexual satisfaction, perceived difficulties and problems of the husbands caused by wives' employment, and the degree of their housework participation. 2. The emotional uneasiness of children during mothers' absence was reported. The communication about mothers' job was helpful to gain children's understanding toward mothers' job. Mothers suffered from guilty feeling of neglecting their children in spite of their good performance of mothering role. 3. The employed daughters/daughters in law perceived high rewards and low cost in relationships with their mothers/mothers in law. The perceived quality of daughter-mother relationship was higher with low cost and high rewards than that of daughter in law/mother in law. Finally practical and policy implications were suggested.

• Korean Parent-Child Health Journal
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.182-200
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• 2004

Purpose: This study is to explore the essence of those lives who have been living with their mothers- in- law for more than 10years since their marriage by applying Van Manen's hermeneutic phenomenological methodology. It consists of four steps such as concentration on the nature of lived experience, existential research, hermeneutic phenomenological reflection and hermeneutic phenomenological writing. Method: Six middle aged participants who have been living with mothers- in- law in middle size of cities were interviewed and observed with their written consent for one month from 20, April. 2000 to 20 May 2000. To expand insight by analyzing sayings, folks stories, writings, etymology of sigipsalee relevant to it were collected and reviewed. Result: Five essential themes were derived by repeated reviewing the transcription of those interview such as difficulty living with endless heart distress, feeling oppressed, feeling deeply lonely, having a stronger backing as time passes, in turn harmonizing with each other. On the basis of the five essential theme hermeneutic phenomenological writing was done as follow. Participants lived lives filled with uneasy feeling from the newly formed relationship among in laws but especially with mothers- in- law. Participants did their best to be acknowledged found that at a significant moment during family event they would be treated as strangers so that they felt isolated and alone. Mothers in laws played a dominant role in most of family decision even buying their children's clothes. Mother in laws rarely complemented them so that they felt inferior as a person. As time passes. Mothers-in-law and daughters-in-law become adjusted to this lifestyle with each other and assumed a more mature relationship which includes a mutual respect thus better harmony. Participants become to have stronger backing so that they express their opinion to mothers-inlaw. With time both of them are getting old, participants show form of pity to their mothers-in- law. Sometimes participant surprise themselves by noticing a change in their behavior to the same pattern Mothers-in-law have showed them. Conclusion: Although generalizations have limitations, findings resulting from the study will enrich family nursing knowledge and understanding the problems when living with mothers-in- law in the same house. It will give a cleared view of problems faced by middle aged korean women in the Korean patriarchal culture. Researchers have recommended to study experiences of married young adult korean women's generation and the findings compared with this study to show trends and changes.

• Journal of the Korean Home Economics Association
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.107-121
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• 1973

As Korean society of today is rapidly changing, the value system which has been traditionally accepted in the family ought to undergo inevitable changes. This paper aims at investigating and analyzing the prevalent value system of the family and the degree to which it is changing in the middle-class families in Seoul. Particular attention has been paid in this paper to the relationship between a married women and her mother-in-law. The conclusion at which this paper has arrived are as follows : (1) more than the half of both married women and their mothers-in-law of the middle class in Seoul feel satisfaction for the family life ; yet the rest who have responded in terms of "average" seem in fact to feel unsatisfactory in their marriage, even though they do not specifically regard themselves "unhappy" ; (2) generally, married women, including their mothers-in-law, prefer the independent, autonomous household management ; (3) both married women and their mothers-in-law wish to live independently but the former prefer the living-together with their mothers-in-law ; (4) married women plan to support economically the parents-in-law more than the latter want to be supported ; (5) the relationship between the parents-in-law and the married women is regarded as "good" by 62% of the former while the latter in 41% only see it in "good" terms, which indicates actually their unhappy psychological state ; (6) married women in general dislike their husband's sisters in comparison with their mothers-in-law, which seems to betray the commonly accepted view that married women go worst off with their mothers-in-law ; (7) the absolute majority of women, whether a parent and her son's wife, believe that the maintenance of a good relationship between families is essential to the happiness of marriage ; (8) surprisingly, a great majority of married women whichever their side may be think that no interference with their children's home is better ; (9) more than a half of mothers-in-law expect their son's wife to live distance from her own parents ; (10) married women believe that the good cause for a better marriage lies in mutual understanding and help exchangeable between them and their mothers-in-law. This investigation has shown, to be sure, some of the salient problems in family relations which will certainly encourage further attempts to study.

• Journal of Families and Better Life
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.55-71
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• 2008

Many studies on the relationships between mothers-in-law and daughters-in-law tended to regard the relationship as a conflicting one. This study, unlike the previous ones, aimed to explore the relationship as it is and to describe the experience of the real relationship. Another aim of this study, on the basis of the results, was to provide the basic data for social services to develop and maintain the positive relationships between mothers and daughters-in-law. To achieve these aims, the central question of the study was, "What are the daughters-in-law's experiences with their mothers-in-law like?" The participants for the study consisted of 12 daughters-in-law who volunteered to be interviewed. Data were collected through in-depth interviews and analyzed according to the grounded theory presented by Strauss and Corbin. As a result, 154 concepts and 42 sub-categories were induced, and finally 18 categories were induced in the course of classifying and integrating these sub-categories. This study discovered that the relationship might be both positive and negative, and that it might even be possible to change from one to the other. The results of the study showed that many factors influenced the quality of the relationship, and that the husband's role was one of the most important factors. Using this study's results as guidance, general programs designed to cultivate more positive relationships between mothers and daughters-in-law can be created and implemented; additionally programs that help the husbands understand the complex relationship and roles can be devised.

• Korean Journal of Adult Nursing
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• v.21 no.6
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• pp.639-651
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• 2009

Purpose: This study examined relationships among stress, stress coping strategies, and somatization in mothers-in-law from multi-cultural families in a rural area. Methods: Elderly mothers-in-law (n=227) living with foreign daughters-in-law completed a self-reporting questionnaire. Data were collected from April to August 2009. Questions related to stress (Visual Analog Scale, VAS), coping strategies (Coping Strategy Scale) for stress, and somatization (Symptom Check List 90, Revised). SPSS/WIN 12.0 program was used for descriptive analysis, t-test, one-way ANOVA, Pearson correlation, and multiple regression analyses. Results: Subjects had a moderate level of stress (5.03). There were significant differences in stress level according to age, educational level, religion, chronic disease, health status, number of children, agreement of an international marriage of her sons, satisfaction in living with a foreign daughter-in-law, and family conflict. Stress showed a significant positive correlation with offensive coping strategy, passive strategy, and somatization. Stress, offensive coping strategy, and passive coping strategy affected the level of somatization. Conclusion: In a family situation involving co-habitation of mother- and foreign daughter-in-law, increased stress experienced by the mother-in-law can lead to increased offensive and passive coping strategies, and increased somatization. More effective means of stress reduction are needed for mothers-in-law from multi-cultural families.