• Journal of the Korean Society of School Health
• /
• v.23 no.2
• /
• pp.192-199
• /
• 2010

Purpose: Multi-cultural families are increasing highly in Korea. Health care professionals and students majoring in health and welfare need to develop their cultural competence for quality of life from multi-cultural families. This study was to be conducted by examining the level of culture knowledge, empathy, and cultural sensitivity of university students majoring in health and welfare. Methods: Convenience sampling method was used and 408 students from 3 universities were evaluated for final analysis. Data collection was conducted through the use of questionnaires. Results: The score of cultural knowledge of students was very low. Empathy and cultural sensitivity showed middle range. There was a significant correlation between cultural knowledge and empathy, empathy and cultural sensitivity. However, there was no significant correlations between cultural knowledge and cultural sensitivity. Conclusion: An understanding of multi-cultural enables health and welfare providers to specialize service in cross- cultural situations of multi-cultural families in Korea. Ways to improve cultural competence for students majoring in health care and welfare is needed.

• The Journal of Korean Academy of Sensory Integration
• /
• v.8 no.1
• /
• pp.15-26
• /
• 2010

Objective : The purpose of the study is to investigate and compare multi-cultural families in terms of mother' s attitude on child-rearing and their children's sensory processing ability. Methods : 19 multi-cultural families and 38 ordinary families were investigated and all the targeted families had children aged 3 to 7 years. Data were collected by a questionnaire asking general characteristics of mother-child; mother's attitude on rearing; and child's sensory processing ability, the Korean-translated version of Short Sensory Profile [SSP], and the Mother nurturing attitude. Data analysis has been done by Descriptive Statistics for subject characteristics and by Mean-Whitney U test for comparison between multi-cultural family group and ordinary family group. Results : There are significant differences between the two family groups in terms of the rearing attitude, especially in sub-item 'refusing(p=.000)'and 'autonomous(p=.000)'. Result of the SSP also indicate significant differences between the two groups in total score(p=.002) and sub-items such as taste/smell sensitivity(p=.004), movement sensitivity(p=.021), underresponsive/seeks sensation(p=.010), auditory filtering(p=.016), low energy/weak(p=.003), visual/auditory sensitivity(p=.029). Conclusion : The results of this study well describe differences between multi-cultural families and ordinary families in maternal child-rearing attitude and sensory processing ability of the children. It is suggested to collect data regarding adaptation of multi-cultural families and their child development through more profound qualitative studies in further.

• Journal of Family Resource Management and Policy Review
• /
• v.14 no.3
• /
• pp.109-122
• /
• 2010

The present study aims to investigate cultural similarities and differences that influence interracial couples (between Korean men and Vietnamese women) when adapting to Korean family culture in terms of interculturalism. The interviewees consisted of three generations. This study used in-depth interviews. Data was collected from January to August 2008. 15 families (45 people) were used for analysis. Results were as follows: (1) the patriarchal culture of the two nations had a positive influence on the adaptation of members during family interactions(2) the culture of filial piety is a value system that both nations believe is important. However, different rituals had a negative influence on the practice of filial piety (3) the community-oriented culture is regarded as important in the two nations. However, Vietnamese wives cannot lead a free community life because Koreans see them in negative terms (4) the Vietnamese traditional wedding custom called "NopJjeOh" had a negative influence on the adaptation to the Korean family culture (5) the preference for sons in Vietnam is not as high as in Korea. This difference had a negative influence on adaptation (6) clear differences between the daily lives of the two nations had a negative influence on adaptation to Korean family culture. In conclusion, Korea and Vietnam have many similarities in culture, which enable Vietnamese wives to adapt to Korean culture more easily than other foreign wives. If various programs are developed to promote the mutual understanding between both cultures based on these research findings, it would further contribute toward social integration in Korea.

• Journal of Convergence for Information Technology
• /
• v.10 no.2
• /
• pp.116-125
• /
• 2020

This study examined the effect of ego-resilience, function of family, stress of adapting to a new culture perceived by youth from multi-cultural families at Gyeonggi-do on their mental health. In doing so, the study sought to suggest effective supportive visits to enhance their mental health. For this, the study carried out a descriptive analysis, t-test, one-way anova, hierarchical regression analysis among 304 middle schoolers from multi-cultural families living at Gyeonggi-do. The study found following results. The higher youth from multi-cultural family perceived the procedural stress, sub-variable of stress of adapting to a new culture and the lower they perceived emotional control, sub-variable of ego-resilience, the higher depression and anxiety they experienced, resulting in worsening of their mental health state. Based on these findings, the study, in order to enhance the mental health of youth from multi-cultural family and their ego-resilience, discussed and suggested development of psychological/emotional programs, preparation of supportive measures to overcome their stress in the course of their cultural adaptation as well as systematic supplementation of related laws in support of multi-cultural families.

• Korean Journal of Human Ecology
• /
• v.19 no.1
• /
• pp.75-89
• /
• 2010

The purpose of the study is to integrate multi-cultural families with special needs and situations into family living and Korean social groups. Nowadays there has been an increase in the number of international marriages. According to these changes, there are a variety of social problems such as cultural conflicts, domestic violence, difficulty in communication, and bad relationships between family members because of misunderstandings. These social problems can be alleviated by a family integration education program for multi-cultural families. This program was developed in order to help immigrant women in their initial settlement and to provide them with information on mutual culture of family living. The contents of the program consist of how to live a harmonious, understanding and hopeful family life. The method of evaluation is to survey the immigrant women's self esteem and conduct an interview. The results of the evaluation are to promote a positive relationship between family members. Also the family agreed to promote favorable sentiments toward each other. The program also had meaningful consequences for the improvement of the immigrants' realistic expectation of marriage and conflict resolution skills. I am hopeful that more elaborate programs for multi-cultural families will be developed in order to maximize the effect with appropriate education and support systems.

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

• Cross-Cultural Studies
• /
• v.26
• /
• pp.487-508
• /
• 2012

The purpose of this study is to analyze communication between school and parents using the "letters to the parents", in order to examine possible areas of improvement for enhancing educational opportunities and school life adjustment for children from multi-cultural families. The letters to the parents used in elementary schools were analysed through genre analysis specifically for this study. At first, the Korean language textbooks for married female immigrants were investigated to see how many letters to parents were included in them. Second, letters to parents were collected to research their structure and content. They were categorized by the text type according to functions and speech acts. It is expected that the results of this study will be helpful for the Korean language education of married female immigrants.

• Korean Journal of Child Studies
• /
• v.29 no.5
• /
• pp.31-50
• /
• 2008

The current and ethnic issues represented in child-rearing practices of Korean-Chinese families in YanBian, China, were studied with the participation of 7 primary caregivers (4 mothers and 3 grandmothers) of young children who were interviewed and observed in their homes. Current issues were categorized as competitive bilingual ability, expectations about third language learning (English), expectations of high academic accomplishment and early education, and economic challenges in parenting. Ethnicity issues included ethnic pride as Korean-Chinese, conflicts of ethnic education, participation in local Korean culture, and rearing the child to have the self-expressive and assertive characteristics of typical Korean children. Results were discussed in terms of understanding and supporting child-rearing of minorities and families with multi-cultural background.

• Journal of Digital Convergence
• /
• v.12 no.4
• /
• pp.467-474
• /
• 2014

This paper concerns the cultural tourism and the importance of cultural interpreters. Globalization has become a key word of 21st century, so the volume of tourists has been increasing. Furthermore, as the Korean wave has expanded to the world, more people are interested in Korea and Korean culture, and we observed the obvious increase of tourists. International tourists visit Korea with a variety of purposes, and their travel types are also diversified. This paper analyzes tourists' behavior based on the data provided by KNTO and briefly examines the cultural interpreters in 5 major organizations. Then considering the specific roles of the guides based on the Cohen (1985) and Lee (2011), I propose that the government should give more focus on the professional foreign language speaking interpreters for culture. As for an alternative to the present volunteering system for foreign languages, I strongly suggest multi-culture families or international students staying in Korea, for the wiser use of their abilities, their easy adaptation to the new world, and the peaceful coexistence.

• Journal of Families and Better Life
• /
• v.27 no.1
• /
• pp.107-125
• /
• 2009

This paper analyzes the life and culture contents of the primary Korean textbook for female marriage immigrants and investigates ways to improve the textbook organization in future. The study results are as follows: 1. The textbook must reflect the demands of female marriage immigrants as learners that need to adapt to Korean society. 2. The textbook needs to adopt a circulating disposition in organizing such life and culture contents that female marriage immigrants can obtain and utilize while living in diverse life environments 3. The textbook should also provide multi-cultural elements in order to help female marriage immigrants with the internalization of the complex identity between their home countries and Korea.