This study seeks to analyze marital equality, social support, and social participation affect the life satisfaction level of married female long-term immigrants, and present means of increasing their life satisfaction level. The data refers to Multic...
This study seeks to analyze marital equality, social support, and social participation affect the life satisfaction level of married female long-term immigrants, and present means of increasing their life satisfaction level. The data refers to Multicultural Family’s study in 2012 titled “Nationwide Study of Multicultural Families.” The subjects of this study include 8790 married female immigrants who live with their spouse and have children under 25years old. The methods used are frequency analysis, analysis of variance, independent samples t-test, correlation analysis, and regression analysis. The main results are the following.
First, the life satisfaction level of married female immigrants was 3.6 out of 5, an indication of beyond average satisfaction. This matches the results from ‘Nationwide Study of Multicultural Families’. Second, after using analysis of variance and independent samples t-test to compare the difference of life satisfaction level of each group within the argument, the results showed that decision-making and gender role attitudes, social support, social participation affected life satisfaction level. Third, after analyzing the correlation between the main argument and life satisfaction level, it showed that division of household labor, decision-making, and gender role attitudes, social support, social participation has a static correlation with life satisfaction level. Fourth, The factors that were statistically significant are age, nationality, length of marriage, and economic activities. In equality among the couple (which includes factors such as division of household labor, decision-making, and gender role attitudes), gender role attitudes displayed statistical significance. and social support, social participation(which includes participating in residential activities and education activites) also showed statistical significance.
According to the results of this study, better gender role attitued changes are necessary. Gender role attitudes in Korea is yet traditional, have settled male’s role and female’s role. Inequality attitudes bring about division of household labor and children care to married female immigrants, economic decision-making to spouses. Support policy for coexisting work and family life is a good case that relives task. Support policy for coexisting work and family life should be accomplished with effect, inform a spouse of gender equality that do equality division of household labor and children care. For social support expansion and understanding for married female immigrants, a government increase participation of married female immigrants regarding office and children education. Through self-help group and variety center, increasing the ways for married female immigrants to communicate with Koreans is necessary. Multicultural family support center needs access to do social participation increasing, should promote quality of program, and division of labor and decision-making, a more compatible system of economic activities and house labor that expands the system and privileges, providing education to increase awareness for the married female immigrants, and The availability of residential activities and the quality of multicultural family support centers should also be increased and should properly reflect the needs of married female immigrants.
This study separates itself from previous studies in that it used a nationwide study conducted for the multicultural families in South Korea. However, the means to accurately measure the variables were limited, and the lack of analysis of the spouses for a more complete analysis comes as a problem.