The Effect of Attitudes Toward Breastfeeding in Public on Breastfeeding Rates and Duration: Results from South Korea

LoCASCIO, Sarah Prusoff,Cho, Hee Won Center for Asian Public Opinion ResearchCollaborat 2017 Asian journal for public opinion research Vol.4 No.4

Background: Attitudes toward breastfeeding in public are one potential barrier to optimal breastfeeding rates and durations. Method: Questions about breastfeeding experience and attitudes toward breastfeeding in public were asked in face-to-face interviews as part of the Korean Academic Multimode Open Survey (KAMOS), May-July, 2017. The response rate was 65.8% (2000 respondents nationwide). Results: A majority of Koreans disagreed (1 or 2 on a 4-point scale) with the statement "Women should not breastfeed their child in open, public places" (53.9%) and agreed (3 or 4 on the 4-part Likert scale) with the statements "I do not feel uncomfortable seeing women breastfeed their child in open, public places" (64.0%) and "Breastfeeding a baby, instead of letting the baby cry, in public places is better for other people" (71.8%). However, despite these generally positive attitudes, the majority also said that they would not breastfeed in public (57.4% of women) or, in the case of men, would not want a close female relative to do so (63.8% of men). Breastfeeding in public was positively correlated with the duration of breastfeeding. People were more positive about breastfeeding in public if they: were parents; did not use formula and breastfeeding a similar amount; had children who had been breastfed in public; were older; were Buddhists rather than Christians. An attempt was made to compare attitudes toward breastfeeding in public and breastfeeding durations internationally, but was inconclusive due to not perfectly comparable data. Conclusion: Our results may be useful in planning public health campaigns in South Korea or future attempts at international comparisons to better understand and address the effect of public opinion regarding breastfeeding in public on breastfeeding rates and durations.

The Effect of Attitudes Toward Breastfeeding in Public on Breastfeeding Rates and Duration: Results from South Korea

Sarah Prusoff LoCascio,조희원 충남대학교 아시아여론연구소 2017 Asian journal for public opinion research Vol.4 No.4

Background: Attitudes toward breastfeeding in public are one potential barrier to optimal breastfeeding rates and durations. Method: Questions about breastfeeding experience and attitudes toward breastfeeding in public were asked in face-to-face interviews as part of the Korean Academic Multimode Open Survey (KAMOS), May-July, 2017. The response rate was 65.8% (2000 respondents nationwide). Results: A majority of Koreans disagreed (1 or 2 on a 4-point scale) with the statement ?쏻omen should not breastfeed their child in open, public places??(53.9%) and agreed (3 or 4 on the 4-part Likert scale) with the statements ?쏧 do not feel uncomfortable seeing women breastfeed their child in open, public places??(64.0%) and ?쏝reastfeeding a baby, instead of letting the baby cry, in public places is better for other people??(71.8%). However, despite these generally positive attitudes, the majority also said that they would not breastfeed in public (57.4% of women) or, in the case of men, would not want a close female relative to do so (63.8% of men). Breastfeeding in public was positively correlated with the duration of breastfeeding. People were more positive about breastfeeding in public if they: were parents; did not use formula and breastfeeding a similar amount; had children who had been breastfed in public; were older; were Buddhists rather than Christians. An attempt was made to compare attitudes toward breastfeeding in public and breastfeeding durations internationally, but was inconclusive due to not perfectly comparable data. Conclusion: Our results may be useful in planning public health campaigns in South Korea or future attempts at international comparisons to better understand and address the effect of public opinion regarding breastfeeding in public on breastfeeding rates and durations.

An Editor's Fear: Could Fraudulent or Problematic Articles Appear in AJPOR?

Kennedy, John,LoCascio, Sarah Prusoff Center for Asian Public Opinion ResearchCollaborat 2022 Asian journal for public opinion research Vol.10 No.1

Testing the Representativeness of a Multimode Survey in South Korea: Results from KAMOS

조성겸,Sarah Prusoff LoCascio,이계오,장덕현,이종민 충남대학교 아시아여론연구소 2017 Asian journal for public opinion research Vol.4 No.2

The Korean Academic Multimode Open Survey (KAMOS) is a national survey first conducted in 2016. Stratified cluster random sampling was used in an initial face-to-face survey during which panel members were recruited. The second survey allowed invitedpanel members to answer online or by phone. KAMOS includes both longitudinal items and omnibus items, i.e., researchers can propose questions to include on KAMOS. This paper seeks to establish that KAMOS is representative of the South Korean adult population. The demographic variables from the first survey were comparable to demographic variables from two well-respected surveys in South Korea: the KOSTAT Social Survey and the Gallup Korea Omnibus Survey. To ensure that there was no substantial difference between those who answered the first survey and those who answered the second survey, we compared the results of 22 items from the first survey. The 2,000 panel members who were invited to participate in the second survey had similar responses to the 1,008 of those who responded to the second survey. Based on our findings, KAMOS can be considered a representative sample.

Social Expectations, Personal Values, and Women’s Role in South Korea

조성겸,Sarah Prusoff LoCascio 충남대학교 아시아여론연구소 2018 Asian journal for public opinion research Vol.5 No.3

This exploratory study considers the difference between personal and perceived societal values related to South Korean women’s role in the home, workplace, and society using eight items asked on the Korean Academic Multimode Open Survey (KAMOS), May-July 2017. Factor analysis showed that these eight items could be grouped into two categories: women’s role in her family and women’s in the outside world. Of the 2,000 respondents, 54.1% personally agreed that “Both the husband and wife should contribute to their family income.” People in their 30s felt the largest gap between their personal and societal values; women also felt a larger gap than men. Those who watched television more were generally more conservative than those who used the Internet more. People who felt a smaller gap between societal and personal values were more likely to feel proud to be a Korean citizen. People who believe that it is better not to marry felt a bigger gap between some societal and personal values on items relating to whether a wife should work, whether a woman’s housework or paid job is more valuable, and whether women’s job performance is equal to men’s. People who believe that divorce is sometimes acceptable were also more likely to feel a bigger difference in two items: the item about job performance and an item about whether a married woman’s social status is dependent on her husband’s.

Social Expectations, Personal Values, and Women's Role in South Korea

Cho, Sung Kyum,LoCascio, Sarah Prusoff Center for Asian Public Opinion ResearchCollaborat 2018 Asian journal for public opinion research Vol.5 No.3

This exploratory study considers the difference between personal and perceived societal values related to South Korean women's role in the home, workplace, and society using eight items asked on the Korean Academic Multimode Open Survey (KAMOS), May-July 2017. Factor analysis showed that these eight items could be grouped into two categories: women's role in her family and women's in the outside world. Of the 2,000 respondents, 54.1% personally agreed that "Both the husband and wife should contribute to their family income." People in their 30s felt the largest gap between their personal and societal values; women also felt a larger gap than men. Those who watched television more were generally more conservative than those who used the Internet more. People who felt a smaller gap between societal and personal values were more likely to feel proud to be a Korean citizen. People who believe that it is better not to marry felt a bigger gap between some societal and personal values on items relating to whether a wife should work, whether a woman's housework or paid job is more valuable, and whether women's job performance is equal to men's. People who believe that divorce is sometimes acceptable were also more likely to feel a bigger difference in two items: the item about job performance and an item about whether a married woman's social status is dependent on her husband's.

The Role of Media Use and Emotions in Risk Perception and Preventive Behaviors Related to COVID-19 in South Korea

김성중,조성겸,Sarah Prusoff LoCascio 충남대학교 아시아여론연구소 2020 Asian journal for public opinion research Vol.8 No.3

The relationship between compliance with behaviors recommended to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and media exposure, negative emotions, and risk perception was examined using regression analyses of data from KAMOS, a nationally representative survey of South Korean adults. The strongest predictor of preventive behaviors in general was negative emotions, which had the largest βh (.22) among the independent variables considered. The eight negative emotions, identified using factor analysis of a series of 11 emotions, were anger, annoyance, fear, sadness, anxiety, insomnia, helplessness, and stress. Negative emotions themselves were influenced most strongly by the respondent’s anxiety over social safety (βf=.286), followed by prediction of COVID-19 spread (β=.121, p<.001) and perceived risk of COVID-19 infection (β=.70, p=.023). Females (β=-.134) and those who felt less healthy (βo=-.097) experienced more negative emotions. Media exposure and increased media exposure both have significant relationships with negative emotions and both a direct and indirect impact on the adoption of preventive measures. Women, older people, and healthier people perceived greater risks and engaged in more preventive behaviors than their counterparts.

RDD with Follow-Up Texting: A New Attempt to Build a Probability-Based Online Panel in South Korea

설동훈,장덕현,Sarah Prusoff LoCascio 충남대학교 아시아여론연구소 2023 Asian journal for public opinion research Vol.11 No.3

Conducting face-to-face surveys is difficult and cost prohibitive, necessitating a new attempt to build a probability-based panel in South Korea. Since 99.9% of adult Koreans own a mobile phone, mobile phone numbers provide a viable sampling frame. Random digit dialing (RDD) surveys were conducted August-December 2021. Of the 288,056 valid phone numbers dialed, 13,655 respondents between the ages of 19 and 69 completed a phone survey. These respondents were later invited by text message to join a panel; 3,202 of these (23.4% or 1.2% based on the number initially contacted) joined the panel. When compared to official government statistics like resident registration data, the census, or the Social Survey, this new probability-based panel can be said to be representative of the Korean population on the basis of age, gender, location, marital status, and household size after weighting is applied. However, even after weighting, panel members are more educated than the general population, white-collar workers and self-employed people are overrepresented, and blue-collar workers are underrepresented. As of February 2023, this panel has grown to 10,471 participants with plans to continue to invite more panel members in the same way. Based on the comparisons in this paper, we can regard this panel as a cost-effective, probability-based panel that may be used for various kinds of public opinion research, by researchers both within and outside of Korea. As we continue to refine and grow this panel, we hope it will become more widely used by researchers as well as provide a model for those building similar panels in other countries.

Testing the Representativeness of a Multimode Survey in South Korea: Results from KAMOS

Cho, Sung Kyum,LoCascio, Sarah Prusoff,Lee, Kay-O,Jang, Deok-Hyun,Lee, Jong Min Center for Asian Public Opinion ResearchCollaborat 2017 Asian journal for public opinion research Vol.4 No.2

The Korean Academic Multimode Open Survey (KAMOS) is a national survey first conducted in 2016. Stratified cluster random sampling was used in an initial face-to-face survey during which panel members were recruited. The second survey allowed invited panel members to answer online or by phone. KAMOS includes both longitudinal items and omnibus items, i.e., researchers can propose questions to include on KAMOS. This paper seeks to establish that KAMOS is representative of the South Korean adult population. The demographic variables from the first survey were comparable to demographic variables from two well-respected surveys in South Korea: the KOSTAT Social Survey and the Gallup Korea Omnibus Survey. To ensure that there was no substantial difference between those who answered the first survey and those who answered the second survey, we compared the results of 22 items from the first survey. The 2,000 panel members who were invited to participate in the second survey had similar responses to the 1,008 of those who responded to the second survey. Based on our findings, KAMOS can be considered a representative sample.

Confirming the Continued Representativeness of an Online/Telephone Panel Using Equivalence Testing

Cho, Sung Kyum,LoCascio, Sarah Prusoff,Kim, Sungjoong Center for Asian Public Opinion ResearchCollaborat 2021 Asian journal for public opinion research Vol.9 No.2

Decreasing response rates to traditional survey methods, like face-to-face and telephone interviews, have led survey practitioners around the world to seek new ways of conducting surveys in recent years." The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated this problem because it made conducting face-to-face interviews even more difficult than before. For example, it made conducting face-to-face surveys infeasible in 2020 in South Korea, and so the Korean Academic Multimode Open Survey (KAMOS) was unable to conduct a planned face-to-face survey to recruit new panel members. The entire 8,514-member panel, established via two-stage probability-based sampling from 2016 to 2019, was invited to take three online/telephone surveys in 2020. Of these panel members, 1,352 responded to at least one survey in 2020. To test to what extent the panel remained representative of the adult South Korean population, we compared the two groups of panel members: those who responded to at least one survey in 2020 and those who did not. After weighting both groups on the basis of age, sex, and geographical area, we analyzed their responses to some of the questions that were asked during multiple rounds of the face-to-face panel-recruiting interviews. Using Cohen's d for survey items that could be analyzed numerically and Cramér's V for categorical items, we were able to conclude that the respondents to the 2020 surveys were equivalent to the non-respondents in terms of both demographics and in the answers they originally gave to substantive questions on a variety of topics related to social science or public opinion research, including questions about quality of life, societal issue, and politics (Cohen's d items <0.2, 95% CI; Cramér's V items <0.1, 95% CI). This analysis may provide a model for others who wish to test the continued representativeness of their panel or who would like to use a different survey mode or change some other aspect of their methodology and test whether it is equivalent to their former methodology. Our success in building a panel that retained its representativeness may be useful to those in other countries where face-to-face surveys had previously been the norm but are becoming increasingly difficult to conduct.