The purpose of this study is to verify the mediating and moderating effects
of ecological variables upon the effect of the level of Korean language
skills upon the life satisfaction of married immigrant women. To do so, the
ecological systemic variabl...
The purpose of this study is to verify the mediating and moderating effects
of ecological variables upon the effect of the level of Korean language
skills upon the life satisfaction of married immigrant women. To do so, the
ecological systemic variables that affect the life satisfaction of married
immigrant women were analyzed as individual factors (period of residence,
status of economic activity, status of physical health, status of
psychological health), factors regarding their spouse (conversation time with
spouse, level of satisfaction in relationship with spouse, cultural
differences, marital conflict), other family factors (level of satisfaction
in relationship with parents-in-law, level of satisfaction in relationship
with children, multicultural orientation, socioeconomic level), and social
factors (social support outside the family, social participation,
discrimination).
In order to test the hypothesis of this study, the 2018 National
Multicultural Families Survey data was used after removing all missing items
and a total of 6759 people were analyzed from this data. To achieve the
purpose of the study, first, the correlation between the general
characteristics of married immigrant women and each variable was confirmed
using the SPSS 21.0 statistical program package. To verify the regulatory and
mediating effects, the SPSS PROCESS macro developed by Hayes (2013) was used.
In detail, PROCESS macro model 4 was utilized to conduct analysis of
mediating effects regarding the status of psychological health and
conversation time with the spouse. Other ecological variables were analyzed
using the PROCESS macro model 1 to conduct analysis of regulatory effects.
The results of the verification of the hypothesis of this study are divided
into individual factors, spouse factors, other family factors, and social
factors, which are as follows.
First, period of residence and status of psychological health were found to
be statistically significant in terms of the individual factors while
economic activity and physical health were not statistically significant. In
the case of residence period, it was confirmed that Korean language skills
had a moderating effect on life satisfaction. The status of psychological
health had a statistically significant mediating effect in the relationship
between Korean language skills and life satisfaction.
Second, conversation time, level of satisfaction in the relationship, and
cultural differences were found to be significant in the spouse factor while
marital conflicts were not statistically significant. Conversation time,
however, was found to have a positive mediating effect in the relationship
between Korean language skills and life satisfaction. The level of
satisfaction in the relationship with the spouse demonstrated a significant
moderating effect in the relationship between the Korean language skills and
life satisfaction. Cultural differences also showed a moderating effect upon
the relationship between Korean language skills and life satisfaction.
Third, the relationship with parents-in-law was found to be significant in
terms of other family factors while the level of satisfaction in the
relationship with children, multicultural orientation, and socioeconomic
level were not significant. In the case of relationship satisfaction with
parents-in-law, it was found that it had a moderating effect in the effect of
Korean language skills and life satisfaction.
Fourth, social participation and discrimination were found to be
statistically significant in the case of social factors, however social
support outside the family was not significant. Therefore, social
participation and discrimination reflected a moderating effect.
According to the results of this study, the varied approaches following the
period of residence, establishment of programs and support systems for
promoting psychological and emotional stability, reinforcement of marital
education to build a positive husband wife relationship, expansion of
mentoring support programs, education regarding multicultural understanding,
introduction of mandatory education for awareness improvement, were presented
as a solution.