Asian Nurs Res.  2015 Jun;9(2):104-108. 10.1016/j.anr.2014.12.002.

Parenting Efficacy and Health-promoting Behaviors for Children of Mothers from Native and Multicultural Families in Korea

• Chung SJ
• Bang KS

• KMID: 2387608
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1016/j.anr.2014.12.002

Abstract

PURPOSE
The aim of this study was to examine the levels of parenting efficacy and health-promoting behaviors for children of mothers, and to explore the relationships between parenting efficacy and the behaviors of mothers from native and multicultural families in South Korea.
METHODS
Data was collected by a self-report questionnaire completed by 258 mothers who had 6-month to 36-month-old children attending kindergartens or multicultural family support centers located in Seoul and in Gyeounggi Province, South Korea.
RESULTS
No significant difference in parenting efficacy was found, depending on the maternal country of origin. However, Chinese mothers performed health-promoting behaviors more frequently for their children than Korean and Vietnamese mothers did (F = 6.87, p < .001). The significant positive correlations between parenting efficacy and maternal health-promoting behaviors for children were found, regardless of maternal country of origin (r = .57, p < .001 for Korean, r = .42, p < .001 for Chinese, and r= .40, p < .001 for Vietnamese mothers).
CONCLUSIONS
Since maternal health-promoting behaviors were different depending on the native country of the mothers, maternal country of origin should be considered in designing programs for improving maternal health-promoting behaviors for their children. In addition, increasing the level of parenting efficacy can be an effective way for improvement of maternal health-promoting behaviors.

Keyword

child; cultural diversity; health promotion; mothers; parenting

MeSH Terms

Adult
Asian Continental Ancestry Group/ethnology
Child Rearing/*ethnology
Child, Preschool
Cross-Sectional Studies
Cultural Diversity
Female
Health Behavior/*ethnology
Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice/*ethnology
*Health Promotion
Humans
Infant
Male
Mothers
Parenting/*ethnology
Republic of Korea
Surveys and Questionnaires
Young Adult