• Human Ecology Research
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• v.61 no.4
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• pp.615-633
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• 2023

This study aimed to examine the actor and partner effects of marital satisfaction on life satisfaction in middle-aged and older couples via their health behavior and health. The study participants included a total of 2,108 couples, aged 57 and over, from the eighth wave of data from the Korean Longitudinal Study of Ageing (KLoSA). The marital satisfaction, health behavior, health, and life satisfaction of the husbands and wives were measured to conduct the analysis. This analysis was conducted based on the Actor-Partner Interdependence Mediation Model (APIMeM) with the bootstrapping technique being used as the mediating effect. The results indicated that there were significant actor and partner direct and indirect effects when it comes to the relationship between the participants' marital satisfaction and their own life satisfaction, mediated by health behavior and health. However, no significant influences regarding the health of the participants on the life satisfaction of their spouses were found. These results suggest that it is important for middle-aged and older couples to improve their marital relationships in order to promote the health and life satisfaction of both parties. Doing so will help husbands and wives lead healthier lifestyles based on their positive relationships.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Clothing and Textiles
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• v.35 no.6
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• pp.678-686
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• 2011

Older people have increased interest and involvement in controlling their aging body through physical exercise and dieting. This study examined the relationship between body image and the participation of older people in exercise and dieting. Two measures of body image (appearance attitude and appearance orientation) were used to study their relationships to participation in exercise and dieting among older people. Data were collected via a mail survey of older married couples residing in three U.S. metropolitan areas of Florida. A total of 94 couples who were 60 years older participated in this study. Multiple regression was run separately for men and women. The results indicated that for both men and women, appearance attitude was inversely related to dieting and positively related with exercise (even though the relationship with exercise was weak for men). Appearance orientation was not significantly related to exercise or dieting for both men and women. A new scale development on body image for an aging population was suggested. Various activities performed by aging people to manage their aging body and appearance need to be studied as related to physical and psychological well-being that includes body image.

• International Journal of Human Ecology
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.55-65
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• 2008

This study examined the personal and relational factors influencing the formation of body image among older persons. Aging-rel￡lted physical changes, health, marital relationship, cognitive age, and moods were personal and relationship factors explained for influence on the body image of older persons. Data were collected via a mail survey of older married couples residing in three US. metropolitan areas of Florida. A total of 94 married couples who were 60 years older participated in this study. Results indicated that aging-related physical changes, effect of physical changes on the self, self-assessed health, and evaluation of spouse's attractiveness, and perceived attractiveness (one's perception of the other spouse's appraisals of his or her attractiveness) were found to be significantly related to the body image of older men and women. For men, self-assessed health, evaluation of spouse's attractiveness, and perceived attractiveness were significantly related to body image while physical changes, effect of physical changes, and perceived attractiveness were found significant for women. The feelings of older persons about and satisfaction with their bodies and appearance were estimated by aging-related and relationship-related variables.

• Korean Journal of Human Ecology
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• v.21 no.5
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• pp.929-945
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• 2012

This study examined structured social network types and their relationship to quality on life satisfaction of older adults. Respondents were 418 adults aged 60 or older living alone or as couples. The data was analyzed using K-means cluster analysis. Four networks types were identified: diverse, friend-neighbor focused, family focused, and restricted. Life satisfaction was highest for individuals in the diverse network group and lowest for individuals in the restricted network group. Stepwise multiple regression analysis indicated that life satisfaction of the elderly was affected by the diverse network, family focused network, the relationship quality with children, the relationship quality with neighbors, and the relationship quality with relatives. Results suggested that having diverse social network in close proximity is very important in old age and structural network types may have important practical implications for improving the quality of life among the elderly.

• 한국노년학
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• v.41 no.3
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• pp.421-444
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• 2021

The purpose of this research is to examine the reciprocal relationships between depression and marital satisfaction among older couples. For longitudinal dyadic analysis, this study sets up a research model based on the Actor-Partner Interdependence Model, the Common Fate Model, and Autoregressive Cross-Lagged Model. Data came from four annual waves from the 10th year (2015) to the 13th year (2018) of the Korean Welfare Panel Survey and the final sample comprised a total of 1,383 married couples over 60 years of age in 2015. Structural Equation Modeling identified the reciprocal relationship between depression and marital satisfaction among older couples, with higher marital satisfaction of older couples leading to lower depression of husbands' and wives', and with higher depression of husbands' and wives' inducing lower marital satisfaction of the couples. Thus, this study suggested that longitudinal interplay between depression and marital satisfaction can lead to a vicious cycle. Based on these findings, the need to intervene at both the individual level and the couple level was discussed in order to reduce depression and improve marital satisfaction.

• Journal of Families and Better Life
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.97-110
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• 1996

The purpose of this study was to compare the caregiver burden and rewards in new generation and middle-aged couples. Data were collected from 207 new generation couples and 196 middle-aged couples who had either of older parents and lived in Seoul. Major findings are as fallows; 1. The burden were constituted with restriction of privacy physical burden strain psychological burden economic cost and guilt. The rewards were constituted with recognition pride maturity improving relationship and assistance of household and childcare. 2. The caregiver burden of new generation and middle-aged wives were hgiher than husbands. Hwever the caregiver rewards of new generation and middle-aged husbands were higher than wives. 3. The caregiver burden of middle-aged husbands were higher than new generation husbands bur there was no significant difference between new generation and middle-aged wives. 4. The caregiver rewards of middle-aged wives were higher than new generation wives but there was no significant difference between new generation and middle-aged husbands.

• Journal of Family Resource Management and Policy Review
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.43-58
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• 2022

In this study, I analyzed how the hours and frequency of housework change after older couples' retire, using data from the 1st(2007) to 7th(2018) years of the Women's Family Panel (KLoWF) conducted at the Korea Women's Policy Research Institute. In this study, couples where both the wife and the husband were 65 years of age or older were selected for the survey. A total of 2,482 people participated. The results as follows. First, as comparing between two time points, when the weekday housework hours of the wife and husband at t1 time point increased, the weekday housework hours of the wife and husband at t2 time point also increased. Second, on weekdays, when the wife's housework increased, the husband's housework also increased. On the other hand, on weekend, when the wife's housework increased, then the husband's housework decreased on weekdays.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.15 no.7
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• pp.255-263
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• 2015

The current study examines the association between multiple losses and depressive symptoms and the role of social support in multiple losses. Using a prospective designed dataset(Changing Lives of Older Couples), this study found a significant difference on the depressive symptom levels between multiple losses and single loss. In addition, there was a significant buffering effect of social support in bereavement, as oppose to previous literature that social support does not buffer the initial bereavement reaction in comparisons between the bereaved with multiple losses and the bereaved with a single loss. The author discusses the importance of monitoring elderly people with multiple losses and availability of social support before and after the loss.

• The Korean Journal of Health Service Management
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• v.6 no.3
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• pp.29-38
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• 2012

The aim of this study was to examine the spouse effects on depressive symptom and suicidal thinking among the elderly aged 65 and over in Korea. The subjects selected from the database of the Fourth Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey(KNHANES IV) conducted by Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention from 2007 to 2009. Those who were female, older, lower educated, or poorer were more likely to live alone than their counterparts respectively. The elderly living alone experienced depressive symptom as 2.0 times(OR=2.004, 95% CI=1.433, 2.803) as, and suicidal thinking as 1.6 times(OR=1.567, 95% CI=1.111, 2.211) as the elderly couples did, adjusting for socio-economic factor, health status factors, and health behaviors factors. As for the male subgroup, the elderly living alone experienced depressive symptom as 4.0 times(OR=3.997, 95% CI=2.066, 7.732) as, and suicidal thinking as 3.2 times(OR=3.181, 95% CI=1.535, 6.592) as the elderly couples did. On the other hands, there was no significant difference in depressive symptoms and suicidal thinking between the female elderly living alone and couples. The authors suggested policy interventions to promote the mental health of the male elderly living alone.

• Journal of Families and Better Life
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.155-172
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• 1997

The purpose of this study is to examine the relation between the later personality adjustment types and the elderly percepted conflict with their married children. The subjects for this study are the aged over 60 years in Seoul both having the eldest sons' couples and perceiving their own economics level as the middle-upper. The results based on this are as followed: 1) The Active Integrated Coper is appeared in the higher educational level group in the better health condition in the 11-30 thousand won of personal expense in the professional and management occupation and in the more vigorous for social activity. The Failing Overcoper the Dependent Passive Coper and the Self-negating Undercoper is appeared in th female elder group in the later group of the older age in the lower educational level in the worse health condition in the group without spouse in one without income in the below 10 thousand won in the less preparation for the later life. 2) The problems of emotion and iew of values bring about the conflicts between them and theirs rather than the financial problem. when they are in the worse health condition in the group without religion in the group not cohabiting their eldest sons' couples and in the group not well-prepared for their later life as the socio-demographic variables the old recognized the seriousness of the conflict with their eldest sons' couples. 3) The lower the Active Integrated Coper is and the higher the Failing Overcoper is the more intense the conflict between them and their eldest sons' couples is. 4) The t-test to examine the difference in the old's conflict with their eldest sons' couples among the later groups shows that it is in the less the Active Integrated Coper and in the more the Failing Overcoper that the conflict is more surfaced. 5) The educational level the level of the later life preparation the contact frequency with their daughter the level of their social activity as the socio-demographic variables and the Failing Overcoper as the later personality adjustment type answer for 22 percentage of the conflict.