This study investigates the effects of parental stress on working mothers’ depression based on the Stress Process Theory, and verified the mediating effects of self-esteem and social support as the internal external coping resources. This study refl...
This study investigates the effects of parental stress on working mothers’ depression based on the Stress Process Theory, and verified the mediating effects of self-esteem and social support as the internal external coping resources. This study reflects the reality that the career interruption and the avoidance of pregnancy of working mothers are becoming the prevalent phenomena due to lack of institutional and conscious supports on their child rearing responsibilities despite the rates of married women’s employment and the rates of dual income families drawing nearly 50% each.
On the other hand, the toddlerhood between the ages of 1-3 is when the holistic human development occurs dynamically and rapidly, which the high qualifications and the successful role performance of the rearer are required, and also when the parental stress increases. Therefore, this study is to discuss about the effects of the coping resources in the process of parental stress of working mothers with children between the ages of 1-3, and use it as the basis for the social welfare intervention.
This study focused on the research questions which were, first, ‘does parental stress influence depression of working mothers with children between the ages of 1-3?’, second, ‘does the internal resource(self-esteem) of working mothers with children between the ages of 1-3 mediate the effect of parental stress on depression?’, and third, ‘does the external resource(social support) of working mothers with children between the ages of 1-3 mediate the effect of parental stress on depression?’ In order to answer these questions, the 3rd year data of Panel Study 「 on Korean Children」were used. 502 working mothers were selected as the study objects and the final 415 were put into the regression model to examine hypotheses. For the analysis, multiple regression was mainly used, and 4 steps of Baron and Kenny(1986) were examined and Sobel Test was performed to prove the mediating effects.
The study results can be summarized as follows. First, parental stress had a statistically significant positive effect on depression. Second, self-esteem displayed a statistically significant mediating effect in the relationship between parental stress and depression. As parental stress increased, self-esteem decreased, and as self-esteem decreased, depression increased. Third, social support also displayed a statistically significant mediating effect. As parental stress increased, social support decreased, and as social support decreased, depression increased. However, the mediating effects of social support only indirectly existed through self-esteem, and self-esteem fully mediated the effects of social support on depression.
This study carries theoretical implications as follows. First, the effects of parental stress on working mothers’ depression and the mediating effects of self-esteem and social support were investigated based on the Stress Process Theory. Second, it encouraged the academic interest on the mental factors of mothers which can influence the development of toddlerhood, and leaves the door open for the follow-up studies on the disadvantaged group that has not drawn attention in advanced researches. Third, it explored the working mothers’ coping resources against parental stress on internal and external levels. Lastly, it reinforced the possibility of generalizing the study results by using the nationwide data.
The practical implications of this study are, first, by verifying the effects of parental stress on the working mothers’ depression, it demanded the social concerns on working mothers’ child-rearing responsibilities and mental health, and emphasized that support policies for working mothers should include emotional and psychological aspects. Second, it reported the need for customized services based on the developmental characteristics of toddlerhood and related parenting knowledge. Third, it expanded the welfare intervention areas by studying the internal and external coping resources on parental stress. Lastly, by determining that the mediating effect of social support indirectly presents through self-esteem, it emphasized that the enhancement of self-esteem should be taken into consideration when offering policies which improve social support of working mothers.