Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / As multicultural families become more established in Korea, researchers have
paid increasing attention to enhancing the families’ quality of life. The number of
multicultural families was only 619 in 1990 but jumped to 750,000 as of 2013. It is
projected that the multicultural families will be accounted for 5 % of the total population,
which is the enormously conspicuous number given that Korean society had been a
homogeneous society for a long time. While several Korean studies have examined
acculturation process of immigrants, there is little understanding of multicultural
families’ work and family life. The purpose of this study is to investigate migrant
women’s later stage of adaptation by measuring their subjective perception of life
satisfaction focusing on two key factors: migrant wives’ employment and perceived
practical support from Korean husbands. Using data from the 2012 National Survey on
Multicultural Families, a nationwide survey implemented in Korea, the hierarchical
regression model of migrant wives’ life satisfaction was conducted with the following set
of predictors: demographics, social-relationship factors, and employment and perceived
practical support from Korean husbands in household labor and child-caring. Study
results found that the higher levels of life satisfaction were observed among migrant
wives who had higher levels of relationship satisfaction with Korean husbands (β = .414,
p < .001), had more participation in community events and activities (β = .059, p < .001),
and had more networks with people (β = .017, p < .001). Two main predictors also contributed to determine levels of life satisfaction. Employed migrant wives showed
lower levels of life satisfaction than non-employed wives (β = -.083, p < .001). Migrant
wives who had higher levels of perceived practical support from Korean husbands in
child care showed higher levels of life satisfaction (β = .018, p < .001), but no impact
was found in housework. For established multicultural families, findings highlight the
importance of perceived practical support from Korean husbands particularly in childcare
as a critical resource of support. Social work implications were discussed in order to
improve established migrant wives’ life satisfaction and enhance their later stage of
integration in Korean society.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:IUPUI/oai:scholarworks.iupui.edu:1805/17115 |
| Date | 07 May 2018 |
| Creators | Son, Hyemin |
| Contributors | Adamek, Margaret E., Kim, Hea-won, Gentle-Genitty, Carolyn S., Pike, Lynn M. |
| Source Sets | Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Dissertation |
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