• Journal of Families and Better Life
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.83-104
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• 2015

The purpose of this study is to provide diverse points of view to understand the low fertility issue of Korean society. For this phenomenological qualitative study, in-depth interviews were conducted with 14 married couples(28 persons) all raising three children. Participants were asked about overall family and work life, child care role performance, thoughts about child rearing, and their sociocultural context. Interview data were explored based on 6 analyzing steps offered by S, J, Talyor and R. Bogdan(1984). Most participants of this study were formed positive perceptions about having three children. Parents' positive perception was closely related with their attitude of not worrying too much about their children's future as well as child caring contexts around them. Parents' perception about having three children was also linked with their child care role construction process. In detail, parents with more positive perceptions tended to increase their level of child care involvement. This was particularly true for fathers. Mother and father's job situation emerged as an important factor to shape their child care involvement. In addition, child care attitude of people around them explained father's child care involvement. Applying these qualitative results, we first expect to provide detailed ideas about lives with three children in Korea. Second, based on our study findings, a more realistic and helpful policy to help the low fertility problem could be developed. Lastly, we also hope to provide helpful phenomenological qualitative research about low fertility issues of Korea.

• Journal of the Korean Society of School Health
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.135-148
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• 2003

The purpose of this study was to find out the degree of satisfaction of body image and sex-role identity of primary school boys and girls and to examine their relevance between two sex groups. The data from study would be useful for mapping out some measures for school health education. Two hundred and forty five(245) students of 6th grade from 5 different primary schools in Seoul city and Gyonggi Province were selected for the study. The meaningful difference among demographic sociological characteristics between boys and girls has been shown to be in religion($x^2$=6.705, p=.044), the order of siblings($x^2$=7.455, p=.024), mother's academic career ($x^2$=6.705, p=.035) and the levels of living ($x^2$=4.108, p=.043). In the frequency distribution of sex-role identity, boys and girls were revealed as : undifferentiated 41.0%, 36.4%; as androgynous 24.8%, 25.8% respectively. Boys have masculinity (23.1%), on the other hand girls more feminity (22.7%). The meaningful difference of the degree of satisfaction of body image depends on father's ag(t=3.029, p=.050), mother's occupation(t=2.878, p=.023), home atmosphere(t=9.056, p=.000), level of livin(t=2.216, p=.028), academic achievements(t=4.580, p=.011). Masculine sex-role identity has shown its meaningful difference in mother's academic background(t=7.042, p=.001), academic achievements(t=14.963, p=.000). Feminine sex-role identity according to general characteristics shows meaningful difference in gender(t=2.683, p=.008), the order of siblings(t=3.019, p=0.51), father's academic career(t=5.558, p=.004) mother's academic background(t=7.676, p=.001), mother's occupation (t=3.405, p=.010), home atmosphere(t=4.492, p=.012), school performance(t=16.774, p=.000). Sex-role identity influences on the degree of satisfaction of body image as the relation bet ween the degree of satisfaction of body image and sex-role identity is pro correlative.

• Journal of the Korean Home Economics Association
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.283-309
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• 1992

This study examines work and family life of married women employed in a manufacturing industry. Data were gathered from the use of fact-to-face interview method from a sample of 230 married working women. The major findings of this study can be summarized as follows : (1) With high rates of change of job, most of the respondents remain unstable in their working situation. It was shown that the important factors influencing job satisfaction of married women are women's life cycle, degree of contribution of wife's income toward total family income, and husband's attitude toward wife's empolyment. The degree of job satisfaction is also strongly influenced by labor structural factors such as pay, work environment and fringe benefits. (2) The amount of household labor time was limited by job-related factors rather than by family-related factors, because among these working women employment itself is necessarily for their subsistance. (3) It was shown that wives participated more actively in their marital communications than their husbands. Most of the respondents showed the syncratic type of the decision making patterns, but this results does not necessarily mean wives exercised an equal power with their husbands. The economic factors and the emotional instability of the husband are the ones mostly influencing marital conflicts of the employed women. It was found that the respondents easily revealed marital conflicts related to personal problems of their husbands(such as extramarital affairs, gambling and alchoholism). However, they tried to overcome the structural conflicts related to authoritarian attitudes of their husbands or economic problems without any complaints. (4) Mothers have difficulty in controlling their adolescent children, due to the weakening of parental authority. Although most of the respondents perceived their employment as having negative impacts on their children, they still have high expectations toward their children. Inspite of low degree of father role expectations and facther role performance of their husbands, most of the respondents anticipated expressive roles as well as traditionally instrumental role from their husbands. Finally, these findings would help us determine family welfare policies in Korea. Improvements in paid and household labor structure of married women should be accomplished at the national level. Also, the acting programs for parent education, marital councelling services, and law enforcement for equal employment between men and women should be provided in our society.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.67-77
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• 1986

The research was carried out in order to assess, at an early stage, the potential barrier in mother-child relationship in the childs' development by using the screening tool. Consequently, after modifying the Neonatal Perception Inventory developed by Broussard and testing its reliability. It has been applied to 152 mothers at the hospital of three universities in Seoul from August 1 to September 30, 1986. The data was analyzed by S.P.S.S. pro-gram and the results were as follows: 1) Mothers perceived the newborn as an individual, and evaluated their baby higher than other babies. 2) Mothers indicated difficulties in their role performance in the fellowing order-bathing, safety, detecting pain or suffering, and feeding. 3) Mothers' perception of a newborn was positive for 75% of the mothers. 4) The factor analysis of the modified tool using principal components analysis and Varimax rotation resulted in the two factors: Factor 1, Baby as an individual: Factor Ⅱ, Performances are required to meet the new-born's needs. 5) The difference in mothers' individual characteristics such as the number of childbirth, the desire to get pregnant or not, the type of deli-very, and the sex of the newborn did not influence on a mothers' perception of her newborn. As seen above, most of the mothers perceived their newborns as able individuals and expressed difficulties involved in taking care of the newborn. Also most of the mothers perceived their babies positively. My point here is, we ought to observe those mothers who perceive their babies negatively, and then compare them with those mothers who perceive their babies extremely positive or extremely negative. In the future, for more comprehensive assessment tool for maternal perception of the newborn, a repetitive verification and modification of this tool is demanded. At the same time, father's perception of the newborn should be included.